The Manor
by Halfling
Summary: Sequel to 'THE CABIN.' Draco and Hermione have both arrived home after Hogwarts and their defeat of Voldemort. Please read The Cabin first. COMPLETE! (Finally...)
1. Default Chapter

_The Manor – Hermione & Draco_

**Disclaimer – **Everything in this story (characters, locations, terms and phrases,) belong to the legendary J.K Rowling. But I enjoy the belief that the story line is my own, so if you don't object too strongly, please let me continue this dream. Thanks.

**A/N – **Here it is, the long awaited sequel to The Cabin. Thanks for all the continuous support and reviews, my fingers are crossed in apprehension about your reactions to The Manor. I hope it rates as well as The Cabin in your opinions. But there's only one way to find out…

**Chapter One – After Math**

Hermione lazily opened one eye and glanced about her bedroom. The curtains were drawn shut, but they fluttered slightly, indicating that the window was open. The room was dim and warm with summer air, and Hermione felt like falling asleep again, but when she shifted slightly to get more comfortable, a weight in her stomach made her realise why she had woken in the first place.

She groaned and attempted calling out for help. "Mum." she tried, but considering she could hardly hear herself, she doubted her mum would come running into the room. Clearing her throat, she took a deep breath, "Mum!"

After a few moments, Hermione heard footsteps coming down the hall and her door slowly creaked open. "Hermione? Are you awake?"

"Yes, and I need to go to the toilet again." She whined. Since she came home from Hogwarts a week ago, her mother had been fussing over her like she was sick. Which she was. Hermione was unable to get out of bed and walk down the hall without her mothers shoulder to lean on. The wound Voldemort had inflicted upon her had weakened her greatly.

"Again? Why do you drink so much?" Her mum asked, opening the door and shuffling over to Hermione's bedside. She pulled back the covers and helped Hermione sit up. Wincing in pain, Hermione held her side where the wound was still healing.

"I have been sleeping for about twelve hours mum, I think it's only natural to need to use the bathroom every once in a while." Hermione explained, letting her mum lift her slowly to her feet. "Ow…" she whimpered when pressure was placed on the newly healed gash.

Giving her daughter a sympathetic look, Mrs. Granger placed a supporting arm under Hermione's arms and assisted her to the bathroom. Waiting a few minutes outside the door, she then helped Hermione make her way back to bed. "Back to sleep with you." She ordered her.

"Mum…" Hermione said, closing her eyes already.

"Yes dear?" Her mother replied, pausing in the doorway to look back.

"Have I had any visitors while I've been asleep?" she asked drowsily, but with a faint touch of hope in her voice that made her mother sigh with regret.

"I'm afraid not, darling."

"Oh." Was Hermione's disappointed response. She heard the door close with a tiny _click_ and soft footsteps fading down the hall. Before Hermione fell asleep, she thought about Draco, whom she had only received a few letters from since they both left Hogwarts. When was he going to visit her? Perhaps she should try visiting him tomorrow…but that would mean she'd have to go to the Manor. With all she had heard about that place, she didn't actually know where it was. Hermione frowned and drifted off to sleep with worried thoughts floating about her head.

A few days later, Hermione woke to the sound of two very familiar voices. "No way, Harry! _You_ wake her up. She'd never do my homework again."

"Uh, Ron? Schools over, mate. I don't think even _you_ have to do your homework again." Harry's voice sounded amused.

"Oh…right. Sorry, I've used that excuse so many times before; I forget it's not valid." Ron replied. "But still no. I don't think I could wake her up after all she's been through recently. She needs her sleep."

"It has been a week since she defeated Voldemort Ron. I think you'd be safe to wake her now." Harry said coaxingly, and Hermione figured him to be sitting in the chair next to her bed.

Ron sighed and Hermione heard him move next to her bed softly. "Ok, here goes noth- hey wait a minute. _You _wake her, Harry."

"_Me?_" Harry asked, apparently incredulous. "It wasn't my idea to come over and visit, therefore you do the waking."

Hermione smiled at this tactic and said, "You mean you wouldn't have visited me unless Ron reminded you to? Shows what a great friend you are." She opened her eyes to see Ron standing over her with a look of relief, obviously happy that he didn't have to wake her up after all.

Harry grinned mischievously, and replied, "Even after he reminded me, I didn't want to come. But he placed a body-binding spell on me, so I had to."

Hermione rolled her eyes and looked up at Ron, motioning him to sit down at the end of her bed. He did, asking "So how have you been?"

She closed her eyes and replied, "Sleeping for the most part, and _trying_ to sleep the rest of the time. My wound hurts almost constantly, but it's healing well. I should be able to get up and walk around within the next day or two."

"That's great, Hermione." Harry commented, and she smiled at him. "Sorry if we woke you up, we thought maybe you would be awake because it's lunch time."

"Just because you two couldn't imagine skipping a meal, doesn't mean I can't." Hermione said. "And I don't mind being woken, I swear I'll turn into a sloth if I keep sleeping at this rate."

Ron laughed, not because it was funny, but to release his relief at finding her well. Harry and Ron had been anxious about her, and put off visiting for a few days longer than intended, for they feared finding her in a sickly state.

"Have you had many visitors?" Harry asked her, taking a sip of the tea Mrs Granger had provided both the boys with before she allowed them to go upstairs.

Hermione looked at him, and answered, "Apparently Professor Flitwick came by last week, but I was sleeping, so I missed that visit. Dumbledore and McGonagall came over yesterday, which was nice of them. They say they're very busy at the moment, Dumbledore especially, with the media. Everyone has to know what happened, so they're attending many conferences and meetings to alert the world. And now, you two. I think everyone just wants to give me time to rest."

Ron frowned. "What about Draco?"

Hermione stomach flipped at the mention of his name, but looked out the window to avoid eye contact with either of the boys. "Um, Dumbledore says he really busy with the media too. Says that because I'm indisposed, he's had to handle all of it himself, what with interviews and stuff."

"Oh." Ron said, "So he hasn't visited?"

"No." Hermione replied softly.

"He will soon, don't you worry Hermione." Harry comforted her. She nodded and waited for them to change the topic of conversation, for at that moment, she was unable to think of anything else but Draco.

Ron and Harry exchanged a look, and began talking of anything that entered their heads. Harry started, "I heard from Simon Harrow, coach of the Speeding Snitches again, they've moved forward training to start in a few weeks, instead of September. I think they need to, to make sure I'm still good enough…"

Ron said quickly, "Mum's really worried about you, she told me to tell you that if you ever want her to cook for you, or if you want to come and recover for a while at the Burrow for a change of scenery, you can always have my bed…"

As Ron faded, Harry began talking again, "Ginny wished that she could have come today, and says she's sorry, but she has exams. Seventh years do finish first, you know. She said she'll try drop by on Saturday, that's in two days…"

Harry glanced at Ron, who thought rapidly and came out with the line, "Does your mum have any food I can eat?"

Hermione giggled, and pointed to her unfinished bowl of vegetable soup. "It should still be warm." She told him, as he reached for it eagerly.

"Shouldn't matter." He replied indifferently, raising the spoon full of lukewarm soup into his mouth.

Harry and Ron stayed for most of the afternoon, and left when Hermione began drifting off to sleep mid-sentence. She told them sleepily to make sure they came with Ginny to visit her again Saturday, or else she would send Dementor's after them.

_Later that day..._

Swallowing nervously, Draco shifted the flowers in his right hand to his left. He looked over his shoulder at the car that waited for him in the street. He had thought it would be more appropriate to visit a muggle neighborhood in a car, as opposed to aparating, just in case he was seen.

Draco knocked on the front door of Hermione's house and waited. When no-one answered, he frowned and knocked again. Still no-one came to let him in. "What a useless butler she must have." He commented, unimpressed. His eyes wandered over the door, looking for a trick, maybe something that would make his knocking echo through the house. That was when he saw it.

A little button sat on the wall next to the door.

Draco leaned in close and examined it closely. It didn't look as if it would destruct the house if he pressed it. If that's what it was for, the Granger's were just looking for trouble by putting out in the open for anyone to push. Taking a deep breath, he thought he'd try his luck, or else he's never get in.

Hovering his index finger over the little button, he closed his eyes tightly and pressed it. There was no explosion, just a faint chiming noise coming from inside the house. He smiled, pleased with his discovery. He pressed it again, listening to the noise it made.

Draco pressed his ear to the door, hoping to hear it clearer, and pushed the button again. And again. And again.

The door suddenly swung open and Draco nearly fell on top of Hermione's mother, who stood facing him with pursed lips and an irritated expression. She looked him over, noting the flowers in his hand and his previous fascination with the doorbell.

"You must be Draco." She concluded.

He smiled politely, unaware that this was Mrs. Granger, and believing it to a maid. She was wearing an apron after all. He said, "Good evening, I'm here to see Hermione."

"Yes, I gathered that." She replied with a small smile. "Please come in."

He looked longingly at the doorbell, but walked into the house. A man sat on the couch, watching television with his dinner on his lap. The lady who answered the door called over to him, "This is Draco."

The man turned around, and smiled at Draco. "Ah, good to finally have a face for the name. She'll be happy to see you, Draco." He put his dinner on the cushion next to him, and stood up. Making his way over to Draco, he shook his hand. "She's been waiting for you to come."

Draco guiltily looked from Mr. Granger to the maid. "Where is she?"

"Come with me," and with a last glance at Hermione's father, he followed the lady out of the lounge room and into the kitchen. "If you don't mind, I'll get you to take Hermione's dinner up to her. She's been sleeping since Harry and Ron left, which was a good four hours ago. She'll be hungry when you wake her up."

"Sure." Draco agreed. Draco watched the lady, who he now thought might be the cook, dish up two plates of steaming roast chicken and gravy, mashed potato and a pile of mixed vegetables. When she handed them to him on a tray, she winked and said, "The other's for you. I've never heard of a young man who's not hungry at dinner time. Or any other time, mind you."

Draco placed his flowers on the side of the tray and took it with both hands. "Thank-you."

"She's just up the stairs, second door on your left." The cook instructed. Draco nodded in understanding and made his way up the stairs. Walking slowly down the corridor, he stopped outside the door which had the small sign, 'Hermione's Room' on it.

Pushing the door open with his foot, he entered the dimly lit bedroom quietly. He noticed a desk on the far wall, and placed the tray on it, before walking back across the room and closing the door. He faced the room and looked around it, seeing the large bookshelf, almost overflowing with different texts, the desk with their dinner also contained many books, and so did the floor.

He glanced at the bed on his right, and was startled to see a pair of large brown eyes watching him. The rest of Hermione was hidden underneath her big blanket. He smiled at her and walked over to the bed and knelt next to it. "You're awake. Your cook said you were asleep."

"I was sleeping, very soundly too, until I heard the doorbell ring at least five times in a row. Then I realized you must be here." She replied. Then she frowned, as if only just hearing the second part of his sentence. "I don't have a cook."

"You don't?" Draco asked in confusion. "Well that's strange. I don't mean to alarm you Hermione, but there's a lady in the kitchen, and she cooked your dinner. If you want I can go down there and demand she leave at once."

Hermione smiled slightly, and she leaned forwards and hugged Draco tightly. "I've missed you."

"I know, your father told me." He said, hugging her tightly. When she pulled away slightly, he kissed her softly then stood up. "I brought you dinner." He walked over to her desk, picked up the tray and presented it to her proudly. "Here it is."

"Ah, I see mum didn't let you come up here without something to eat." Hermione noted, seeing the two plates. "She's been like that with everyone. Dumbledore ended up with her self-created eggplant and pumpkin pie with apple-pie for dessert. He said she wouldn't take no for an answer."

Draco smiled, and handed her the flowers. She sat up in her bed and took them from him with a happy smile. She smelt them and sighed, "I love jonquils."

"I know. You've said that before." He said, handing her dinner to her once she placed the flowers on her bedside table. They ate in silence, as they both realized they were rather hungry once they took the first bite. After the trays had been set aside, Draco scooted his chair closer to the bed and took Hermione's hand in his.

He looked at her in concern, "How have you been? And tell me honestly, I've told you before that I can tell when you're lying."

She smiled at him, then said "I've been…getting better. My wound is healing well." To prove she wasn't lying she pulled down the blanket and lifted up her nightgown to reveal the scarring injury in her side. "See?"

Draco examined it closely, then looked up at her. "That's taking a long time to heal Hermione."

"Dark magic leaves the deepest wounds." She responded.

"So I've heard." Draco said, his voice suddenly sounding strained. Hermione's expression became helpless as Draco's face began to show signs of oncoming tears. As much as he tried, he just couldn't stop the tears building up in his eyes and then streaking down his face. Hermione made space on the bed, grabbed his hand and gently pulled him on to her bed so he was lying next to her.

Draco tried his hardest to block his pain and wipe away his tears, but Hermione just said quietly "Don't be foolish Draco. Your father was a great man and you need to mourn his passing."

A large sob escaped his mouth and he slowly buried his face under Hermione's chin. She wrapped her arms carefully around him and held him as he faced the loss of his father, something he had not admitted to himself since he left Hogwarts a week and a half ago.

Eventually his tears subsided. Draco lifted his head off Hermione's chest and looked at her with watery eyes. She also had been crying, for although she hadn't known Draco's father, Mr. Malfoy had been a strong man, risking his life each day being so near to Voldemort as he worked against him. Had he been discovered before Hermione and Draco's confrontation, Lucius would have been tortured and killed, but not before Voldemort had gotten the names of Hermione and Draco out of him. But Lucius had been clever and secretive, and although his life alongside Credere's was the sacrifice of killing Voldemort, Hermione knew he would have preferred to die and have Voldemort die too, than to allow Voldemort to continue living his evil life.

Draco leaned forward and kissed Hermione gently. Pulling back, he rested his forehead against hers and said weakly, "I don't know what to do."

"I'll help you." She told him, kissing him firmly in reassurance, though she had no idea what to do.

"No." Draco murmured when she pulled away. "I mean I don't know what to do about…everything. There's too much stuff that's changed. Nothing's the same anymore."

Hermione looked at him with a frown. "We are still the same, Draco."

He shook his head. "Even we're not the same." Draco paused as if gathering his thoughts. "Due to leaving Hogwarts, I have to get a job, but I don't really know what to do with myself. But, added to that, you and I had to go and kill the Dark Lord, so I have all the media to deal with and then have been placed in charge of rounding up all the Death Eaters who have disappeared."

He touched a fatigued hand to his brow. "Then there's my fathers death to deal with -"

Hermione cut him off in alarm, "Oh no, I missed his funeral last week! I'm so sorry Draco. I didn't even think to ask how it went."

"It was terrible, but I've put it behind me." He answered, obviously wishing not to talk about it. "But now that he's gone, I've got to look after mother, and the Manor has now passed in to my possession. It's huge, so there's all the pay for servants that aren't house elves to take care of, all the chores must be organized, and all fathers connections to be reestablished." He placed his head in his hands. "It's so much to do. And I know," he said quickly as Hermione started to object, "that you said you'd help, but most of that has to be done as soon as possible, and you missy," Draco poked her on the nose, "need to stay in bed until that _disgusting_ looking wound heals."

Hermione mocked offense. "That's not a very nice thing to say about my wound."

Draco smiled. "Have you seen it? I thought I was being fairly lenient with disgusting, although it fits more in to the category of nauseating."

"Shut up you monster." Hermione said, as her eyelids began to droop. Draco kissed her on the cheek, and slowly got out of the bed.

"You need to sleep, and I think if I stayed here much longer, your cook would come and shoo me out." He said to her quietly.

"That's my mum Draco." She reminded him.

"I thought you said she was a dentist?" he furrowed his brow.

"Both my parents are dentists, but as I've told you before, we're not a rich family like yours. My mother cooks our meals." She smiled at his slow comprehension. "Now get out so I can sleep, and come back as soon as possible."

"Anytime to come and see you in this sickly condition I will, Granger." He said, jokingly reverting to his old way of talking to her. "It makes my day to see you in such pain."

She smiled slightly, although it was almost painful in itself to remember the way they used to treat each other. "And it makes my day to see you."

Draco's cool composure went out the window as his shoulders slumped slightly and he rolled his eyes, saying "Hermione. That's not fair. Now I feel heartless."

She giggled and received his kiss with pleasure. After a few minutes, he was gone and Hermione fell into a deep sleep, with dreams of Draco playing over and over in her head.

**A/N** – Gosh, it's been so long since the conclusion of The Cabin that I sincerely hope my writing style hasn't changed at all. Thank you to everyone who has longed for the coming of The Manor, and has waited patiently. I have loved all the reviews that have continued to pop up in my e-mail for The Cabin, and I also hope that The Manor, though much shorter than The Cabin, will bring Fan Fictioners out there as much enjoyment.

Thank-you all for support of my writing, and I would love to know what you think of this new addition, "The Manor." So, if you please, I'd love you to review chapter one.

All my fondest wishes for the upcoming holiday season, Halfling.


	2. Swizzle Sticks

**A/N – **Thanks for being patient while I was away at Schoolies, now I'm back with another chapter which I hope is enjoyable for you. I appreciate all the reviews I've received they're beautifully encouraging.

**Chapter Two – Swizzle sticks**

Draco ran an irritated hand through his hair and tried to think of a way to avoid the question. He was sitting in an interview with a journalist from The Quibbler. The questions had been expected to begin with; how did you defeat Voldemort? Was it hard? Were you scared you were going to die? What do you plan to do now?

But now the questions were beginning to stump Draco. He wasn't prepared for such a list of ongoing queries. He sighed in frustration at his inability to answer the question, and looked the man with large glasses and white hair in the eyes. "Sorry again, sir. Can you repeat the question?"

The man called Merv nodded. "In what way did the mating habits of Pinky Winkles effect your conquer of Voldemort?"

Draco slumped his shoulder in defeat at being unable to find a comical relation. "They didn't, I suppose."

The man looked surprised and mumbled something to himself that sounded strangely like "Pinky Winkles hypnotized Voldemort with their mating and allowed Mr. Malfoy to bonk him on the head with a swizzle stick."

Draco's face took on an incredulous expression at this mans intentional write up of incorrect information. "I didn't say that."

Merv glanced up as he finished writing the words down. "I could have sworn that's what you said." He looked at his notebook, "Yes. That's what I have here. I'll quote it for you, 'Pinky Winkles hypnotized Voldemort with their mating and allowed Mr. Malfoy to bonk him on the head with a swizzle stick.'" He glanced at Draco once more. "It's definitely what you said, young master."

"No, it's what you wrote down, but not what I said." Draco objected, then decided it safer to move on. With the lack of sleep he'd been experiencing, a trial of his temper was not a wise idea. "Ok, whatever. Next question, please."

"Rightio." Merv read the next question out with a curious look. "In which store did you purchase your lethal swizzle stick?"

Draco sat dumbfounded for a few moments with an expression of disbelief on his face. "Malvin's Magic Carpets." He suggested, deciding the article was going to be a crock of shit anyway, why bother objecting if Merv would write what he wanted anyway.

Merv nodded his head knowingly, "Ah. Thought so."

_-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-_

"Of course, Mr. Jenkins." Draco said patiently, "You will all still be entitled sick pay and holiday leave. Nothing like that is going to change."

The Head servant of the Malfoy Manor looked at his new master with respect. "Then what is going to change, sir?"

Draco sighed and shook his head. "I doubt anything, but for now, let's just say I haven't thought about it. Because, let's be honest, I haven't. None of you will lose your jobs, even the house elves, and designated chores will remain the same unless you wish to request for a different one. If any of you do wish to change chores, I think now would be a great time to do so. Everything around here is about to change, so you may well add to it."

"Yes sir. I will inform the others at once." With a wave of his hand, Draco dismissed the Head servant to do his duties. Glancing up the stairs, he saw an edge of a black cloak disappear around the banister. Frowning, he walked up the stairs slowly, wondering what to say.

When he reached the top of the stairs, he saw that the corridor was, as he expected, empty. The only person who resided in this wing of the Manor was his mother. Draco approached her room and knocked on the door. "Mother?" he called in, opening the door a fraction so he could be heard.

"Yes Draco?" she replied softly. He pushed the door open and walked in. Narcissa sat on a large chair that faced the window, looking out over the Manor's extensive gardens. She was dressed in black, and wore a small black veil to show that she was in mourning of her recently passed husband.

"Were you spying on me again?" he asked, closing the door behind him and sitting on the edge of her bed.

She smiled at him slightly. "What else is there to do?"

Draco felt a pang in his heart and his throat constricted. He was the man of the family now. He had to stay strong. "Plenty of things, mum. Shopping or reading. Um…you could always get a job and start working again like you used to before you met father."

Narcissa closed her eyes momentarily, forcing herself not to think about Lucius. "I could?"

"Of course." Draco replied, almost coaxingly. "Or, you could start going out with your friends for lunch and stuff. You know, to break the day up a bit. Or…help me with things around here."

Narcissa perked up, showing Draco that she didn't really want to leave the Manor just yet. "Like what? I thought you had everything under control. You seemed to know exactly what you were doing with Mr. Jenkins down there. I'm impressed at your ability to cope with all this Draco. A lot of things have been placed heavily on your shoulders. But…I would love something to do."

Draco smiled and arranged something for his mother's distraction. It was at once sorted that she would care for the staff of the house, their pay, their leave, their dismissal, their promotions, etc. She would also take care of the house holds' expenses. Anything that needed to be purchased, she would organize with a servant or if she felt like an outing, she could do it herself. All these duties were usually carried out by the Head servant or others, but Narcissa needed something to do, and was willing to do it.

As he closed the door behind him, Draco took a deep breath and told himself everything would be ok. He just needed to get passed this initial load of things to take care of. Then there would be time to consider his future plans.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Draco's shoulders nearly rested on the table as he awaited his breakfast. Fatigue overwhelmed him each morning as he awoke and forced himself to get out of bed. The _Daily Prophet_ lay open in front of him, and he scanned the back pages for jobs. Although he had completed seven years at Hogwarts, his results didn't come out for another two weeks, and he needed an immediate job. He could use his score to get a high paying occupation later.

The swooping wings of an owl sounded from the top window of his large dining room. Draco glanced up lazily and spotted his black owl flying towards him. Once it landed, he unattached the parchment tied to his leg, and opened it. It was a letter in a messy black scrawl, which read:

_'Dear Mr. Draco Malfoy,_

_I apologize sincerely for the delay of this letter, but my assistant coach and I had to tour England, searching all possible Quidditch players to fill the empty space in our team. Although you specialize in the Seeker position, I'm afraid we've already filled that station. After a thorough discussion with the assistant coach of the Speeding Snitches and the team, we decided that though your talent lies in a different field, we wish for you to take the position of Beater. We feel that with all you've been through recently, it is obvious you can easily focus on something new and complete it successfully. _

_I hope that you feel this opportunity to be one you'd love to accept. I understand your life is difficult to cope with at the moment, so if this doesn't work out for any reason, it won't be a problem. _

_Please let me know your decision as soon as possible, as training begins in September._

_Simon Harrow,_

_Coach of the Speeding Snitches.'_

Draco sat staring at the letter with glazed eyes, not really believing his luck. A smile slowly spread across his face. Quidditch. He'd never even thought of that. The timing of the letter was incredible, Draco thought, as he glanced at the job options in the _Daily Prophet_ and noticed that he had circled 'Full time Cleaner for the Magical Lavatory Mishaps Association.'

He smiled and stretched. Not long after, his breakfast was brought to him by an eager to please house elf. When Draco thanked him, the house elf looked affronted but bowed and began quickly running off to the kitchen.

"Excuse me." Draco called after him, hoping he would stop, not quicken his pace in horror at being addressed by the master of the house. The house elf froze in his tracks and slowly turned to face Draco.

"Yes, master?" he asked nervously.

"Could you bring me some parchment and a quill & ink?" he asked, scooping a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. The servant nodded and scurried off, and a few minutes later came back with the requested materials.

Draco nodded his thanks, and began writing a letter of acceptance of the Beater position for the Speeding Snitches. Tying it to the leg of his owl, he sent it off, telling him to fly quickly.

Once he finished eating his breakfast, he stood and wandered through the halls of the Manor. The gloomy pictures of old dark wizards and dragons watched him carefully, and he had to suppress a shiver as he felt their eyes boring into his back. He was their new owner, and it was obvious they didn't trust him like they had Lucius. Lucius was the right hand man to the evil Voldemort, but Draco had killed Voldemort. He was not regarded highly among the dark possessions of the house.

Draco realized that when he was younger he could bear their presence easily, because he respected them. But now there was a tension that could not be ignored. A few wizards called out profanities at his retreating back. This seemed to catch on, and the hall was suddenly filled with noise, as evil people of past ages damned his name for vanquishing a wizard they admired.

Draco stopped walking and slowly pulled his wand out of his pocket. This was his manor, and he would not tolerate this treatment, even if they were only paintings. Spinning around he said, _'Obliterate!' _and three antique paintings burst into flames. Slowly, with the screams of the captive wizards burning, the paintings turned in to ash.

"Do not test my patience. The consequences will be most unpleasant, I assure you." Draco warned quietly. "I am your new master, and if I feel inclined to rid my manor of you, I will. So you'd better hope I hear nothing more."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked down the hall, with nothing but silence meeting his ears.

_-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-_

"Speeding Snitches?" A healthy looking Hermione asked a few days later. "No way."

"Yes way," Draco said, shifting in his seat. "I've already replied saying I'll take the position. So if all goes well, you'll have yourself another butch, famous Quidditch player."

Hermione laughed. "Ooh, finally you'll compare with Krum. I've been wondering when you may surpass his charm. I suppose the moment is on its way."

"That's such a mean thing to say to me." Draco feigned a painful expression. "I know my looks alone surpass Krum's, what with that nose of his. Oh, and my sexy backside."

Hermione smiled then said, "I don't suppose you've told Harry about this?"

"Why would I have told Harry?" Draco asked in confusion.

"You'll be playing alongside him." She explained. "He did get the Seeker position, you know. It will be strange for you both to actually be on the same team. I can't wait to see that. Oh…that means you'll actually win a match." She added with an evil grin on her face.

Draco placed a hand on his chest as if he received a mortal wound. "Ouch. That was uncalled for."

"But true none the less." She told him, and then changed the subject. "Guess what?"

"What?" Draco asked, knowing he would be the one to change the topic next.

Hermione smiled and pulled back the covers. Draco started to stand up to help her out of bed, but she told him to sit down again. "Just watch." Hermione moved her feet to touch the floor , then stood up without assistance. "I can walk and everything."

Draco grinned as he watched Hermione moving about her room with ease. He could tell it hurt her, but at least she could do it. "You're wonderful," he said, standing and holding her hand as she stood in the middle of the room.

Hermione leaned into his chest and allowed him to wrap his arms around her gently. He kissed her on the forehead and asked her softly, "Hermione?"

"Mmm?" she responded, lifting his head from his chest and gazing in to his eyes.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked, an amused expression crossing his face as Hermione looked at him in confusion.

"Huh?" she asked. "I thought…" she trailed off, as what she was about to say didn't need to be said. "What the hell are you talking about, you idiot?"

Draco cleared his throat. "I realised the other day that we started 'going out' while at Hogwarts, so we never really had a first date or anything. So Hermione, will you go out with me?"

She smiled at his interesting suggestion and said, "Well that depends. My schedule is very busy, between lying here, sleeping, eating, and with the main event of my day consisting of wandering to the toilet, it may not be convenient."

"How about I book a time in advance?" he smiled. "Would that work better for you?"

"Yes, I think it would." Hermione pulled herself away from him and went back to bed. "Did you have a time in mind?"

Draco nodded as he seated himself once more. "I was thinking this Saturday. So it gives you two more days to pick a dress that will knock my socks off. I've only ever seen you in that ridiculously loose Hogwarts robe and these silly pajamas and with the minor exception of nothing at all."

"Excuse me, but I believe I wore a tight black dress to the party by the lake a few weeks ago." Hermione reminded him. "Nice to know you forget so quickly."

Draco frowned, then his face broke out into a grin as the image produced itself in his mind. "Ah, no I haven't forgotten. But that image is stored in a separate section of my mind, so it's not quite so accessible in my waking hours."

"Which section is that?" Hermione asked with a frown.

"I've decided to label it as 'Fantasy.' I'll have you know you're alongside Lavender." He said, teasing her gently, but also checking if she'd recovered enough to get her sharp edge back.

"Oh, I get it." Hermione nodded, "Similar to you being alongside Krum and the very sexy image of Harry with no shirt on in _my _mindsfantasy section."

Draco stood up in one motion. "When have you seen Harry without a shirt on?" he demanded.

Hermione giggled, "The Burrow, Sixth year, December 26th, three minutes past midnight."

Draco's face became passive. "You're having me on, aren't you?"

"Sort of." She said. "I've seen Harry and Ron plenty of times with no shirt on, but I have to admit they fit more into my 'Don't Go There,' section than 'Fantasy.'"

"Oh, come on Hermione." A voice said from the door, "We can't be that bad."

Draco and Hermione looked towards the door, to see Ron, Harry and Ginny walking in. Ron looked mildly insulted, but Hermione could tell it was just an act, for his eyes were shining in mirth. Ginny winked at Hermione, "I agree with Ron. I know for a fact that Harry has a nice set of abs on him."

Harry looked slightly embarrassed and shifted under Draco's amused gaze. Ron looked sharply at Ginny, waiting for his sister to give him at least a little praise. When she said nothing, he prompted, "And…"

"Well, I suppose _some_ girls might find your chest attractive, but when you get that _awful _rash…" Ginny was cut off when Ron hurriedly placed a hand over her mouth, saying,

"That's about enough now Ginny." Ron glared at Harry who failed miserably at stifling a laugh. However, he pretended not to notice Draco hyperventilating on Hermione's floor, but Hermione pulled her covers back once more, got out of bed and kicked him in the side, telling him off,

"Draco, get up." She said, masking her own laughter because it would hurt her too much. "Need I mention those bumps you get when you've eaten mushrooms, and I have to admit, their location is much more unpleasant than Ron's. I mean, the chest is fine, but when they start moving towards your -" Her mouth was suddenly covered by Draco's hand.

He stood and laughed innocently. "Ah, funny, funny Hermione. How I've missed you. And I think I'd best be off, see you Saturday."

Hermione giggled as she got back into bed, hearing Draco mutter to the others, "It's not true, she's just making stuff up," as he passed them.

The other three came further into the room, and settled themselves down. Harry smiled at Hermione and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You seem to be recovering great."

"I am." She beamed at them. "And I'm going out on Saturday night, on a date."

Ginny leaned forward from her place on the floor. "Ooh, who with?"

Hermione, Harry and Ron all looked at her incredulously. She melted into the floor a fraction of a second later, saying, "Oh right. Draco."

"But Gin," Hermione said. "I think I'll need your help. I don't have anything to wear."

"Easily arranged." Ginny stated firmly. "We're both the same size. You can borrow one of my dresses. Which one do you want?"

"Oh, borrow the red one, Hermione." Harry suggested. "If you look anything like Ginny in that, Draco won't even make it inside."

Hermione looked at her best friend firmly. "Harry, I hardly have enough energy to make it to the kitchen, so I think making to wherever we are going will be enough, without any…extra business."

"Then he'll make you wear it again when you're better." Harry told her. "Trust me."

"Harry, I hardly feel comfortable talking about this with you, thanks very much." Hermione said. "Please change the direction of conversation."

Ron pulled out a newspaper from his back pocket and handed it to Hermione. "The Quibbler?" she questioned. "Since when do you read this?"

"Since I was told about the interview with Draco written up in there." Ron said, "Page three."

Hermione opened it up, and scanned the article. She started laughing at the ridiculous extent his word had been taken out of context. She looked up at the others, and questioned, "Swizzle sticks?"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

A/N – Please let me know if you like the direction of the story. And just to let you know, the Manor won't be anywhere near as long as The Cabin, it's similar to an extended epilogue.


	3. First Date

**Chapter Three – First Date**

Hermione examined herself in the mirror, and almost blushed at her reflection. She had never known Ginny owned such a dress, but was glad she did because it was perfect.

It was tight fitting, and had a deep, square neck line that was held up by two spaghetti straps. The skirt flowed as it was a light material, and reached just below her knees, while the torso was shaped like a corset, and had crisscrossed ribbon at the back, pulled as tight as she could handle without her wound beginning to ache.

She heard the doorbell sound and picked up her bag from her desk and started walking out of her room. When the doorbell sounded again, she smiled to herself, but when it just kept ringing she decided she'd have to have words with Draco. She walked carefully down the stairs to the sound of chimes and called out to her parents that she'd get the door, and see them when she got home later that night.

Reaching the door, Hermione opened it and grabbed Draco's outstretched hand before he pressed the doorbell for the eleventh time. "That's enough of that."

Draco grinned sheepishly, and said "But it's fun."

"I know, everybody goes through a button-pressing phase." Hermione said, half jokingly. "It's just usually at the age of three, not eighteen."

Draco was about to reply, but he suddenly noticed what Hermione was wearing. His eyes slowly wandered over her body, and his mouth opened slightly in wonder. Her curves were emphasized and for the first time his love for her was rivaled by his lust. Finally he looked up to her calm face, and saw her beautiful hair pulled back loosely so strands drifted down about her face.

"This is the meanest thing you've ever done to me, Hermione." He said, knowing full well that dinner at a restaurant would be enough to tire her for the rest of the weekend.

She looked slightly unsure of herself as she asked, "Should I change?"

Draco shook his head violently, but couldn't bring himself to say anything, for it would most definitely be inappropriate within the hearing of her parents. "Shall we go?" he asked instead.

Hermione nodded, and allowed him to take her arm and lead her through the door and out to the black car waiting. Draco opened the door and Hermione lowered herself inside, being very careful about her injury. He closed the door behind her, and walked around to the other side and hopped in. He called to the driver, "You know where to go."

The car pulled away from the curb and Hermione looked at Draco and admired his attire. "Nice suit. I didn't know you had one of those."

"I need one for the place we're going." He stated, purposefully piquing her curiosity. "But you'll just have to wait till we get there to find out where that is." He informed her, knowing the question was on her lips.

Hermione pouted slightly and looked out the window at the same time a large crack sounded, trying to guess where they were going by the roads they were taking, but suddenly realized she had no idea where they were. The buildings looked old and close together, similar to those in England, but they weren't the same. She looked questioningly at Draco, who motioned that his lips were sealed. "Not until we get there."

Hermione shifted impatiently in her seat and looked out the window again. Due to the quick arrival in a place she was unfamiliar with, Hermione knew the driver must have aparated the entire car to Draco's desired destination.

Hermione craned her neck to look in the distance to find a landmark she might recognize, but the only thing out of the ordinary was a building that looked as if it was about to fall over. She turned to look at Draco. "No way."

Her pretended to look confused. "No way what?"

"Rome? Are you serious?" Hermione asked in a shocked voice. She had never jumped from one country to another just for a meal. The concept was entirely new to her, and she suddenly looked down at her dress to make sure it would be suitable for the change.

"Hermione." Draco said, "You look so enchanting, no one will question what you're wearing. It's only Rome. It's not as if I've taken you to Buckingham Palace, but even so, I'm sure you'd show up the Queen."

"Considering her age, I'd hope so." Hermione smiled. Draco just looked at her, with an expression that betrayed he hadn't heard what she'd said. He leaned over and kissed her neck softly, lifting his hand to stroke her cheek gently.

"Enjoy tonight, and tell me when you need to go home. Don't think you'll offend me. I'd prefer this evening to run short, than to have you in bed two weeks longer than you should be." Draco told her. Hermione nodded and gave him a smile.

After a few minutes the car pulled to a stop, and Draco commanded Hermione to remain where she was with a raised finger. She undid her seatbelt, but other than that remained in her seat. He hopped out of the car and walked around to her door. Opening it for her, Draco offered his hand, saying "My lady,"

Hermione dropped her eyes and as he assisted her out of the car, she said in a feigned high class accent, "My Lord, this is far too much. I would have been happy with Mc Donalds…well, probably not, but Rome?"

Draco just frowned slightly, obviously not familiar with the world or fast food. "Who's McDonald? You don't mean Leigh McDonald from Hogwarts, do you? I mean, he's only in sixth year, and if you'd been in the same Quidditch change room as him, you'd have varying opinions of him and what would make you happy…"

"Draco." Hermione intervened in his pointless defense. "It's atake awayplace all over the world. I'm not surprised you don't recognize the name, and I hope you never become familiar with it. Let's move on, shall we?"

Draco looked at the ground and flushed very slightly, "I'll have you know that I'm serious about Leigh. Trust me, he'd be a disappointment from the start."

Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Shut up, dip stick."

"Elegant language froman elegantlady." He commented softly. Raising his voice to his normal volume, he took her arm in his, and said, "Right this way, ma'am."

Draco led her just a few meters down the street and stopped in front of a building called, _'Supreme Cuisine.' _Hermione noticed through the tinted windows, all the tables seated only two people, and were spaced apart enough to give each couple considerate privacy. "Here we are." Draco announced, looking slightly uneasy.

"You're not nervous, are you?" Hermione asked, wrapping an arm around his waist, and pressing her body against his. Draco figured that this move was not intended to be seductive, but more like wicked, just to make him squirm.

"Not at all," He replied, his voice slightly higher than normal. Requiring much determination, Draco didn't look her in the eye as he pried her off him, and led her through the door. As they walked in, Hermione looked around, and felt as if she had just entered another world. Candles lined the walls, and had been placed on all the tables, alongside an elaborate bunch of flowers in the center of table. Each couple were dressed in fine clothing, and held their glasses of wine or champagne elegantly.

Now it was Hermione's turn to be nervous. She was not used to the lifestyle of a superior person, and had no idea how she would appear too all these fancy Italians. A man with an expensive tuxedo approached and said something to them in Italian. Hermione could only assume it was, "How can I help you?" Draco replied a short sentence in Italian, and Hermione frowned at him, unfamiliar in his ability to speak another language. He gestured to Hermione as he spoke.

The man glanced at Hermione and said in English, "I'm sorry ma'am. I was unaware you didn't speak the language." He turned back to Draco. "I'm afraid we're booked out. Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, under the name Malfoy." As Draco said this, the man looked at Draco with a sharper eye.

"I apologize for not recognizing you instantly. You came here enough with your parents as a child. I heard about Lucius. My sincerest regards to you and your mother as you go through your time of grief." The man glanced down at his book. "Ah, yes. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, here you are. You have booked a table upstairs."

Hermione glanced at Draco as the man called her his wife. She found him looking at her with a strange expression on his face. It was a mixture of hesitation about correcting the man, and pride because someone thought Hermione was his wife. Hermione remained silent on the issue, and she saw the corner of his mouth raise very slightly.

"We would appreciate that, sir." Draco replied, pulling his stare away from Hermione, and turning to face the man. He nodded, and led them to the back of the restaurant where a staircase was concealed. They were led up it, and into a smaller room with a balcony that overlooked the street and the gardens across it.

"This one is yours," he gestured to an elegantly laid out table. "I'll send a waiter up soon, when you're ready to order."

Draco thanked the man as he walked away, and pulled out Hermione's seat for her. She smiled and sat down slowly, and felt her side start to ache slightly. Once Draco was seated, he looked around the room at the other five tables that filled the space, and then at theirs which was right next to the balcony.

"Are you cold here?" he asked Hermione, when he felt a faint breeze come in. "Do you want me to get us a different table?"

Hermione shook her head. "It is a warm night, Draco. I think I'll be fine."

"Of course," He nodded. They glanced at the menus, and once they knew what they'd order, they lay them aside and looked at each other. "He thought we were married." Draco commented after a few minutes of silence.

"I noticed." Hermione responded, not allowing herself to smile.

Draco tried a different approach. "Did it bother you?"

"Why would it bother me?" she asked, brushing a few strands of hair behind her shoulder. Draco was momentarily distracted as his eyes followed her hand. Once noting her bare shoulder, they wandered down to what he could see of her dress, and his mind wandered to what lay underneath the dress.

He glanced up to see her watching him, apparently amused at his distraction, but still wanting an answer. He tried to give an answer. "Because you're only eighteen, and maybe you think that's too young to be considered someone's wife."

Hermione frowned at him. "Well, to be honest I do think that is too young to be considered _someone's _wife." Draco's heart sunk down to his shoes, and proceeded to melt in a puddle on the floor. "But, I couldn't possibly be too young tobe _your _wife"

Draco stared at her for a few moments, making sure he had heard correctly. Her gaze was firm, ensuring he would have no doubt about the truth of her statement. She meant exactly what she said. Suddenly Draco's face spread into a wide grin. He couldn't wipe it off his face, no matter how much he told himself how stupid he looked.

Hermione chuckled at his reaction and laid a hand on his knee under the table. "I love you."

"I love you too." Draco told her, leaning forward and kissing her softly on the lips. She melted into him and they broke apart only once a distinct clearing of the throat could be heard next to them. They looked up to see a young male waiter standing by their table, kindly averting his eyes. "Sorry." Draco apologized.

"Not a worry. Newly weds are all the same." The waiter commented knowingly. "I know I was. Now, what would you like?"

After they had ordered their meals, the waited smiled at them and said quietly, ".It shouldn't take longer than twenty minutes You may resume your positions." With that sneaky comment, he headed back down the stairs.

So Hermione and Draco did just that.

Once they had eaten their dinner, Draco commented "You fit right in."

Hermione looked at him with an expression that betrayed her worry. "Are you sure? Because I really don't feel as if I do. Everyone here is so upper class, and I'm just from a simple family. No mansion. No fortune. No royal ancestors."

"I don't have royal ancestors." Draco defended himself.

"Two out of three is pretty close considering I have none of the above." She reminded him.

"I have the strangest feeling we've been over this." Draco said pointedly. "and I think discussion of this topic always ends the same." He paused. "I don't give a crap what home life you come from. So don't give a crap about mine."

Hermione hung her head slightly. "Sorry."

"I don't need an apology, Hermione." Draco said. When she looked at him, he said, "But I definitely need a kiss."

She happily obliged, but when Draco pulled her chair closer to his, and snaked his arm around her waist, Hermione gave a sharp intake of breath. Draco stopped immediately, "Shit, I forgot."

She placed a hand delicately on her wound and said, "No problem."

He could easily tell she was lying. "Hermione." His voice was stern. "What have I told you about lying to me?"

"Sorry. It does hurt a bit." She told him.

"A bit, or a lot?"

She grimaced. "Maybe a lot."

Draco stood up, said "You should have told me before," and walked off down the stairs. When he returned a few minutes later, he said to her, "I've just paid the bill. Let me take you home now."

Allowing him to help her out of her seat, Hermione wrapped an arm about his shoulders and put some of her weight on him. He helped her down the stairs and out into the street. The car was still sitting where they had left it, and once Draco made sure Hermione was comfortable in her seat, he talked to the driver briefly.

Within the minute they were traveling back to Hermione's house. They were both silent, but at one point, Draco reached across and took Hermione's hand tenderly in his own. They arrived, and Draco walked her to the door. Without hesitation, he let go of Hermione's hand and surged forward to press the doorbell before Hermione could stop him.

"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed, knowing her parents would have something to say for waking them up at this late hour. "Please don't do that."

"Why not?" He asked curiously without turning to face her, his finger itching towards it once more.

"It's more dangerous when you press it at night." Hermione lied. "The chances of floods are much higher." She almost winced at how bad her lying was, but although Draco claimed he could always tell when she was lying, apparently, this time he didn't.

He visibly shrunk back from the doorbell. "Oh."

Concealing a smile by looking back over her shoulder, she said "I've had a wonderful time. I can't wait till I tell mum I went to Rome for dinner."

Draco's expression relaxed, and he very gently wrapped her in a hug and kissed her goodnight. Pulling away, he asked "Would you like to do this again some time?"

Hermione smiled and nodded, "Yes. I love you, therefore I love every moment spent with you."

"Including the moment we killed Voldemort?" Draco teased her.

"Excluding that moment."

"Ah." He said quietly. "You'd better go get some rest. I'll check up on you tomorrow." Hermione nodded and reached for the door handle. "Oh, and I hope I haven't caused a flood." He said sincerely. "Tell your parents I'll pay for the damage if I have."

"I will." She replied, opening the door. Hermione turned to face him, leaning on the side of the door. "Goodnight Mr. Malfoy," she said, mocking the formality of the evening.

"Goodnight," he smiled, and she closed the door with a soft click. As he turned and walked back to the car, he whispered, "Mrs. Malfoy."

_-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-_

**A/N- **Thanks for reading. I enjoyed writing this chapter for some reason. Merry Christmas to everyone, I love your reviews, have a very safe and happy holiday.

Halfling.


	4. The Malfoy Manor

**Chapter Four – The Malfoy Manor.**

Hermione shifted restlessly in her chair, trying to concentrate on the book she was reading. It had been a week and a half since dinner in Rome with Draco, and she had continued to recover over that time. Hermione's stamina was building, and she was finding the need for a change in her daily routine increasing.

Draco had visited her almost every day since their first date, but even those visits had not been long enough to satisfy Hermione's longings to be with him. She shifted again as the doorbell rang. Setting her book aside and jumping up, she ran to the door to answer it.

"Hey Hermione."

"Oh. Hello Harry." Hermione said, forgetting to mask her disappointment.

Harry frowned at her. "Well, I know when I'm not wanted."

Hermione looked back at him from glancing over his shoulder, and smiled. "Don't be stupid. I just thought you were going to be someone else." She stood back, "Come in."

Harry entered and once they were on the double seated couch in the lounge, he said, "I take it Draco hasn't visited yet today." When Hermione shook her head, he continued, "I'm going to the Burrow over summer. If you'd like to come over and stay, Molly said that you were welcome. She believed that a change of scenery might do you good."

"That might be true." Hermione consented, her eyes staring out the window.

Harry smiled to himself, and shifted closer to Hermione, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "I have my own sneaking suspicion that you have a different change of scenery in mind." Hermione glanced up at him almost hopelessly. "Don't stress Hermione, he'll ask you soon enough. He's had a lot to deal with these past weeks. I think he's only just getting it all in order. Plus, we've had our training with the Speeding Snitches to get used to. I know for a fact he's had trouble adjusting to the position of Beater."

"Really?" Hermione was surprised. "He hasn't mentioned that. But I know he's been spending a while at training, and when he's not doing that, he's in interviews, or with his mother, or catching up on some much needed rest."

Harry nodded. After a while, he made them both some tea, and they lounged around talking about Harry's new job with the Speeding Snitches, and how Ron was going. They chatted about Ginny preparing for her final year at Hogwarts, and how she had requested Hermione's advice on the best ways to study for Transfiguration. Hermione told Harry about Rome, and he remained silent yet attentive throughout the entire account, although he had heard it three times already. Then Harry tentatively brought up the subject of Ron, and his lack of a love interest.

"It upsets me Hermione, that I'm so happy with his younger sister, and he has to hang around with us, feeling like the third wheel. I don't know what to do for him."

While Harry had been expressing his concerns, a green glow in Hermione's fireplace had gone undetected by the two friends. A masculine figure slowly came into view and carefully stepped out of the fire. He smirked at their lack of alertness, and also at the idea that had just popped into his head due to overhearing the last bit of conversation. "I think I know what can be done."

Harry stood up and had his wand aimed at Draco's chest in an instant. Hermione had whipped her head around to see who it was, and melted back into the couch in relief when she saw it was only Draco. "You scared us, you idiot." She said.

"I know. How funny for me." Draco commented, walking into the room, and sprawling out over an armchair.

Hermione frowned at him. "Draco, how did you get here? My fireplace isn't connected to the Floo network."

"It is now." Draco told her. "A little visit to the Ministry was all it took."

Hermione smiled at him, and he winked back. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and eased himself back onto the couch. Once he had placed his wand away, Draco's initial statement registered. "You say you have an idea about Ron?"

Draco looked towards Harry. "Oh yeah. Surely you both know who I have in mind…"

Hermione nodded immediately, and Harry made it clear he knew who by looking doubtful. "Come on Harry. She's shown an interest." Draco said. "I've known her long enough to detect the signs."

"Do you think Ron's interested though? I mean, it's not as if they've ever been the best of friends." Harry objected.

"Neither have we." Hermione mentioned, motioning between Draco and herself.

"Good point." Harry said. "Fine. You guys work something out, because this is so not my area of expertise."

"Uh huh, because it's certainly mine." Draco said sarcastically.

"Shut up." Hermione told him, as Harry stood and made ready to leave.

"I'll come and visit again soon Hermione." He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek goodbye. "Unless you feel up to coming over to the Burrow and visiting us instead? You must know that Molly would love to see you out and about…"

Hermione brightened at the prospect. "I would love to. How does Friday evening sound? Do you think perhaps Molly would let me come over for dinner?"

Harry smiled at her. "I know she'd love it. See you then." For a moment he started towards the door, then stopped and looked over his shoulder at the fireplace. "Huh. That would be easier."

Draco reached into his pocket and handed Harry a vial that contained Floo powder. "Not all of it. I still have to get home."

Harry thanked him, and shortly after calling out "The Burrow!" he was gone.

"So." Draco ventured. "I was thinking…"

Hermione remained silent, hoping he would say what she wanted to hear.

"Do you want to come over to the Malfoy Manor sometime, so you can see where I live?" Draco glanced at her and noticed the grin on her face. Taking it as a yes, he continued. "My mother really wants to meet you, and I'd love to show you around, and see if you like the place."

"I'd love to." Hermione replied. "Now that I'm busy Friday night, how does Saturday sound?"

"Well…" Draco looked at the ground for moment, "I was actually thinking that I'm not doing much this afternoon. And by the looks of things, you're not either. So, if we assess this situation correctly, you could probably come home with me now."

When Hermione didn't respond, he quickly added, "That is, if you want."

She frowned, and responded, "No, I really would love to, it's just that…it's a fair distance, and I don't think I'd want to leave after only a few hours. From what you say, the Manor is huge, so I wouldn't really be able to see it all in one night, would I?"

Draco couldn't suppress his smile. "I think you're right. Hermione, would you like to stay over the night, just to make the trip worthwhile?"

Hermione stood happily, and in response said, "I'll go pack."

Half an hour later, Hermione had packed and informed her parents that she was going to Draco's house for the night. They were pleased that she was doing something other that read or sit up in her room.

Draco gave her some Floo powder, and told her that he'd go first, so she wouldn't feel weird appearing alone in a strange home. Once he'd disappeared with her bags, she stepped forward and threw the powder into the flames. "Malfoy Manor," she said firmly, and she stepped into the green fire.

After a few moments of rushing passed grates, she felt a slight tug towards one and stepped into it. Emerging into an expansive room, Hermione brushed a few bits of ash off her shoulders and looked around. It was richly adorned, but everything appeared to have its own value, without anything seeming to have been purchased simply because it was expensive. Hermione turned and looked over her shoulder at the wall above the fireplace and stared at the large, almost life size painting.

There stood Lucius Malfoy, his blonde hair slicked behind his ears, and a glowering expression. His hand rested on his wife's shoulder as she sat in front of him, straight backed and with her hands clasped firmly in her lap. Their son, Draco Malfoy stood on the other side of his mother with a slight smirk captured on his face.

"I had only just started at Hogwarts when that was done." Draco explained from behind her. "We were going to have another one painted as soon as I graduated, but obviously there's no point anymore."

Hermione faced him. "I'd love to meet Narcissa."

"Of course, Madam." Draco took her hand in his and guided her through the halls of the Manor, each as lavish as the next. "I can only imagine she's in her room until dinner. We'll visit her there."

"Are you sure she won't mind my being here?" Hermione asked, having not thought of this yet. "What if she feels as if I'm intruding in her home?"

"Aside form the fact that she won't think that, she'd soon get over it when she realized how happy it makes me to have you here." Draco told her, poking her in the ribs. "Up these stairs."

Hermione allowed him to lead her up a large marble staircase that winded its way up to a second level. The hall it opened up to was long and was covered in a rich green carpet. The paintings that lined the walls were of relatives or well known places and landscapes.

Draco leaned down and explained, "Mum is the only person who sleeps in this wing. All the house help sleeps down stairs, and my room in the East wing, on the third level. So, she's not got too much company these days with father not sharing her room anymore."

Hermione nodded and waited for Draco to knock on the door to Narcissa's bedroom. After hearing a soft reply, Draco opened the door, and peered his head around to see his mother. "Mum, I brought Hermione up to meet you."

"Oh, finally. Bring her in." She replied. Draco pushed the door fully open, and led Hermione into the room. The first thing Hermione noticed wasn't Narcissa; it was the beauty of the room. The double bed was made of a heavy dark wood, and the blue quilt that covered it was thick and woolen, with a matching rug on the floor, woven with raw silk. The curtains were pulled back from the large window that overlooked the gardens, and Hermione noted a fair sized balcony just outside, obviously reached via the glass door on the right side of the window.

"Nice to meet you at last, Hermione dear." Narcissa said, standing from her chair by the window and extending a hand politely. Hermione walked forward and shook her hand warmly.

"And it's wonderful to meet you too." Hermione stepped back so she stood next to Draco. After a moment of silence, Hermione said, "You have a glorious home here, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Yes, my late husband had high expectations of his house. And by the end, all of his expectations had been carried out, from the staircases and furnishings, to the four separate wings. It is quite comfortable, but I'm afraid I can no longer call it my own. It is Draco's home now."

"Mum, it's yours too. Don't be stupid." Draco said sharply. "I don't want to hear any of that nonsense about it not being your home anymore."

"Yes dear." Narcissa acquiesced with a small smile. She turned to Hermione, "I love it when he gets all demanding like this. It reminds me of Lucius. Tell me something, are you going to stay here long?"

"Draco's invited me to stay the night, if that's alright with you." Hermione informed her.

"Yes, yes, of course. I was thinking something longer, but the night's fine with me dear." Narcissa smiled at her. "Now I'll let you two explore the place, and I'll see you again at dinner."

"Ok." Hermione said, and walked out of the room with Draco.

"See?" he told her. "She's not really that bad now, is she?"

"No." Hermione smiled. Draco led her down many halls, and showed her a vast variety of rooms. He showed her the three studies, two lounges, kitchen, dinning room, the entire north wing which was designed for guests only, the bathrooms, the attic, and the basement. As they walked up from the basement, Hermione turned to him. "There's one room you still haven't shown me."

Draco's brow furrowed. "Which one's that?"

"Yours."

Draco's expression turned almost sly. "Oh yeah…" He took her hand gently and raised it to his lips, kissing it softly. He then turned, keeping her hand in his, and walked through the lounge room and up two sets of marble stairs. Reaching the third floor, Draco continued down a corridor and stopped in front of a closed wooden door.

"Here lies the domain of Draco Malfoy." He said in a whisper, as if presenting a lions den to a group of tourists. Slowly, with a smirk on his face, he turned the handle and pushed open the door. Hermione's mouth dropped at the sight of Draco's bedroom.

It was huge, about the size of her lounge and dining room combined. A large arching window covered much of the far wall, with heavy green velvet curtains pulled back to give a wonderful view of the star filled sky. His double, four poster bed sat in the middle of the room, decorated with a green quilt and silver pillows, and it was then Hermione realized how much Draco had prided himself on being a Slytherin. His desk was on the left, and a large bookcase filled much of the wall space next to the door. Opposite the bed was a fireplace, in front of which was a large green armchair. Hermione also noticed a door beside the bed, and she correctly guessed it to lead to the bathroom.

"What do you think?" Draco asked her, watching her reaction carefully.

"Five of my bedrooms could fit in here." She stated, dumbfounded.

"Does that make it bad?" he asked her, a crease of worry appearing on his brow.

Hermione shook her head. "Not at all. I'm just trying to imagine what you think of my tiny house compared to this."

"Don't try to do that. I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am, and I don't think any less of them for it. Hermione, we have been through this too many times for me to bother with an argument. I love you, and that's all that matters. The size of a house makes no difference to me. Tell me you understand that."

"I understand Draco." Hermione said. Draco nodded his head in conclusion of the conversation, and closed the door behind them. He inquired after her health, and she replied, "I feel fine Draco. Better than I've felt in a long time."

"Now that's what I want to hear." Draco smiled slyly. He took her hand in his own once again, and kissed in gently. Slowly, he pulled back her sleeve and left a trail of kisses up her arm. As he did so, his other hand worked its magic by unbuttoning her robe and slipping it off her.

Hermione stepped forward and kissed him passionately, all the while removing his robe and shirt, and allowing him to pull off her top and fumble with the hook and eye on her bra. "I hate those things, they make no sense." He muttered to himself as he finally threw it aside.

Hermione couldn't help laughing. "At least I know you haven't had too much practice."

Draco smirked dryly, "Yeah," then quickly covered her mouth with his own, preventing any further conversation. He lifted Hermione, careful to avoid putting pressure on her healing wound, and carried her to his large bed. Placing her down gently, Draco quickly untied the bed hangings to save them embarrassment if they were walked in on. When he rejoined Hermione, he found her snug under the covers waiting for him. Smiling, for it had been a painfully long time, he slipped under the covers with her.

_An hour later..._

"I was wondering when I was going to see you two again." Narcissa said as they walked hand in hand into the dining room. The house elves had laid out a wonderful assortment of dishes to choose from, and Hermione's eye widened at the notion that the Malfoy's always ate with such variety.

"I was just giving Hermione a tour of the Manor." Draco explained with a small smile. "And you know how long that can take, especially when you introduce a bookworm with a library like ours."

"Library?" Hermione questioned as she sat down.

Draco lowered his head in shame at Hermione's inability to catch on quickly to a lie. "Yes Hermione. We have a library, remember?"

Hermione stared at Draco, unsure whether to embarrass him in front of his mother for not showing her the library, or to pretend to have forgotten momentarily to cover her own embarrassment about having been doing something entirely different than looking at books. "Um…oh yes. Now I recall the library. Quite big, wasn't it?" she attempted, guessing the Malfoy's library would have to be large like everything thing else they owned.

"Yes Hermione." Narcissa said, smiling at the pair's lack of preparation for a confrontation. It was completely obvious to her what they had been doing and where, but it had been a while since she'd had anyone to mess with. "Did you see the section on Karma Sutra? Lucius and I built on that collection for years. It may have made things much more interesting back in Draco's room."

"Mother!" Draco exclaimed, half in embarrassment and half in mortification at hearing his mother giving them tips on how to spice up their love life.

Narcissa winked and smiled in satisfaction. "Sorry Hermione. I just have to embarrass that boy sometimes. Otherwise his cheeks remain so pale."

"Shut up mum." Draco said with red cheeks and an expression that attempted severity. "Next time you say something like that, you're out of this house."

"Empty threat, my dear." Narcissa said with a smirk. "Empty threat."

And that was when Hermione started respecting Draco's mother.

**A/N – **Happy New Year! I hope all your New Year's resolutions come true. Mine never do, so I don't bother making any up anymore. But how about I do one for you guys. Tell me when you'd like this fic finished by, and I'll try live up to it. (Within reason, that is.)

Happy holidays, safest blessings, love Halfling.


	5. Ron visits the Manor

**A/N- **This chapter's not as long as you think. There are some thank-you's typed out at the bottom. If you've read and reviewed this fic, you're probably one of them. To tell you all the truth, I'm losing interest in this fic, and long to concentrate on my new one. It's not posted yet, but I can't to see what you all think of it. Don't stress, I will finish this one, but I'm just letting you know how I'm getting on.

**Chapter Five – Ron visits the Manor**

At breakfast the next morning, Narcissa demonstrated how bored she really had been over the past few days. "I've been thinking Draco. Maybe you should organize a reunion with all the Seventh years from Hogwarts."

"Mother, we've been away from that place just over a month. Why would we want a reunion so soon?" Draco asked, before biting into his pancakes.

"Well, you were all studying so much towards the end, I doubt much passed between you. Besides, it would be nice to catch up with people from other Houses outside Hogwarts. Those castle walls place rivalry inside all your minds."

"I think it's a good idea, Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione told her, causing Draco's forehead to thud heavily into the palm of his hand. She turned to him and fixed him with a demanding glare. "What is your problem Draco?"

"It just makes another thing I have to help organize." He complained. "There's too much happening at the moment. It's only just starting to calm down. Let's not hype it up again."

"You don't have to do it Draco." Hermione said, eyeing Narcissa thoughtfully. "Narcissa, we know that you're struggling for things to do at the moment. Could we possibly persuade you to organize a Hogwarts reunion for us?"

"I'd love to." She said, her mouth spreading into a large smile. "I've got some ideas already. All you two have to do is be in charge of inviting everyone. I was thinking Sunday week would work nicely, ok?"

Draco looked at him mum. "You're sure you won't mind doing this?"

"I'm sure. As long as I'm allowed to hang around while everyone is here." She paused. "I had been thinking that the Manor is a decent sized place for it. And from here I can organize the house elves to cater, I'll try get a band in and the rest of the mingling is up to you."

"Sounds good mum." Draco said with a smile, finishing off the last of his breakfast. At that moment the head servant walked into the breakfast parlor. "Is something wrong Mr. Jenkins?" Draco asked him politely.

"Not at all, sir." He replied with a nod of the head. "I'm here to announce the arrival of a Missus Pansy Parkinson. Arrived by the Floo Network in your lounge room a few moments ago, and waits for you there."

Draco stood up and excused himself from the table. He smiled at Mr. Jenkins, and left the room. Hermione looked across the table at Narcissa, wondering if she should follow him.

"I don't think he intended to leave you here with his moping old mother." Narcissa told her with a slight smile. "I think he wishes not to tell you what to do. If he'd told you to go with him, that would be controlling you. If I read my son correctly, he wants you to feel at home here, and allow you the freedom to do whatever you want."

Hermione hadn't thought of it that way. "Thank you. I'd love to see Pansy again."

"There you go." She smiled, then noticed Hermione's frown. "Out that door there, turn right, and it's the third door on the left."

Hermione nodded her thanks, and moved out f the breakfast parlor. Following the directions, Hermione found herself in the lounge. Draco was seated on a large red couch and had his feet propped up on a footstool. Pansy was standing in front of the fireplace, which, Draco had told Hermione the night before, burnt all year round no matter what the weather, to allow visitors to arrive via Floo powder.

She walked in to room and Pansy turned to face her with a smile. "Hermione, it's been so long. Are you all better?"

"Basically, yes. Just a scar left." She replied, moving to sit down next to Draco after hugging Pansy in greeting. Draco winked at her, then placed his arm around her shoulder and drew her close. Hermione rested her head on Draco's shoulder and placed a hand on his chest.

Pansy looked at them, "Damn you two. You're making me jealous just sitting there. If only I had someone I could − _Ow, shit_!" Her sentence stopped abruptly when she was knocked to the floor by a new arrival. Draco and Hermione sat up straight in shock and peered over the coffee table to see Pansy and someone else tangled up on the floor.

"I think someone just used Floo to get here." Draco mused, smiling at Pansy's stupid mistake of standing in front of a connected fireplace. He should have warned her, but he hadn't really thought anyone else would come over. Bad luck.

"Who is that?" Hermione queried as a tall, lanky guy stood with his back to them. He extended his arm to help Pansy up, mumbled an apology and she took it with a strange expression on her face.

"Is Pansy _embarrassed?_" Draco asked incredulously, as she was helped to her feet with a blush on her cheeks.

"No way." Hermione said with wide eyes, as the bright red hair of the newcomer registered. "_Ron?_"

Ron turned to see Draco and Hermione watching him from the couch. He quickly retrieved his hand from Pansy's and it flopped against his side. Ron couldn't avoid their mirthful eyes and he suddenly looked willing to transfigure himself into a toad. Or something smaller so they couldn't look at him teasingly.

A gnat, perhaps.

"Oh, hello Hermione." He said, glancing at his feet. "Hi there, Draco."

"Hello." They replied in unison, praying for the sake of the pair in front of them that they wouldn't burst out laughing. After composing herself, Hermione asked, "What are you doing here Ron?"

"Um…" Ron stumbled, glancing at Pansy, who refrained from making eye contact. "I was just coming to find you."

Hermione waited for him to continue as to _why _he was trying to find her, but it was evident by his silence that he needed prompting. "Ok. Now you've found me." She told him with a smile.

"Good." He said, then was silent again. Draco looked at Ron with an open look of disbelief, with his jaw hanging down and his eyes almost mocking. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs, and he sat up straight and replaced his expression with one less scornful.

"Yes, it is good, isn't it?" Hermione conversed. "How did you know I was here?"

"Oh." Ron straightened up with a smile. A question he could answer, "I went to your house to visit you, but your parents said that you weren't home because you'd gone to Draco's for the night. I was about to go home because I had no idea whereto find this place, then they told me that the Floo Network was connected to their fireplace."

"They actually said 'Floo Network?'" Hermione asked, doubting her parents knowledge of such things.

"Well no." Ron admitted. "They said, 'The fire thingy works.'"

"Ah, makes more sense." Hermione said with a nod. "Well, I'm glad you've found me. Have a seat, you two." She instructed before she continued, motioning towards the other two seated couch opposite theirs. Sharing a bashful glance, Ron and Pansy sat down next to each other and faced Draco and Hermione.

"Narcissa came up with a great idea this morning." Hermione told them. "She thought that a Hogwarts reunion, for the seventh years only, would be a good idea. I know we haven't been away from school very long, but it would be great to see everyone again. I'm sure some people already have a lot of news to share."

"I think it's a wonderful idea." Ron said quickly, glancing at Pansy.

"I'd love to come and see everyone again." Pansy replied, casting a look in Ron's direction, unfortunately making it obvious she'd love the chance to see _Ron _again.

"Great." Hermione stated. "We'll have it here, next Sunday. Narcissa will arrange food, drinks, music, and anything else."

"Sound like fun." Ron said, glancing at Hermione. When he looked back at Pansy, as he had been doing often in the past few minutes, Hermione was struck by an idea.

"So Ron, Harry never got back to me. Is it alright with Molly if I come over for a visit on Friday night? Perhaps stay for dinner?"

His head snapped back to her. "Oh, yeah. Mum was really happy she could see you so soon." He paused for a moment, as if considering the implications of what he was about to say next. "Actually, she was wondering if you could bring Draco over. She says she hasn't met him properly before."

Hermione smiled triumphantly. She had hoped Molly would invite Draco over, and now that Ron had just included Draco in the invitation, Pansy was the only one in the room who was not invited to the Burrow Friday night. And Hermione knew that Ron was considerate enough to…

"Pansy," Ron started, turning to face her again with a nervous expression. "I know mum would be more than happy if you'd like to join us too."

Hermione almost squealed. She grabbed Draco's hand in her own and squeezed it in delight. Ron had actually managed to ask her. Draco slowly turned his head to look at Hermione with raised eyebrows and a cool expression. However when his eyes met with hers, and he saw the look of excitement on her face, he dropped the charade and smiled back.

"Really?" Pansy looked surprised. "You're sure your mother wouldn't mind a complete stranger coming over to her house for dinner?"

"No." Ron shook his head with a smile. "It happens all the time."

Pansy smiled at him, and barely considered it before saying, "I'd love to."

Hermione stayed all of Thursday at the Manor and had planned to go home after dinner. Once dinner had been cleared away and Narcissa announced she was going to go to bed, Hermione stood also. "I'd better get going. It's nearly eight o'clock. Mum and dad will want me home now, I'm sure."

"Oh." Draco said, looking a bit disheartened. "I'll walk you to the fireplace."

"Goodnight Hermione." Narcissa said. "Perhaps next time you come over, you can stay longer." As she said this she cast a wink in Draco's direction. Hermione didn't notice, but Draco raised his eyebrows and made a mental note to talk to his mother later about it.

Once they were in the lounge room, Hermione turned to face Draco. "Thanks for having me over." She said, sounding unsure of the appropriate pleasantries for this situation.

Draco's brow furrowed. "Don't thank me. I want you to feel like this is your home too. Do you thank your parents every time you leave your house? I doubt it. But just this once…you're welcome." He leaned forwards and planted a soft kiss on her lips. When they broke apart, Draco reached towards her, brushing her hair behind her ear, and whispered, "I don't want you to leave, my angel."

Hermione glanced towards the flames, unsure of what to say. She didn't want to leave either, but she couldn't really invite herself to stay longer. When she made eye contact with Draco once more, she noticed there was a question in his eyes. Suddenly, without knowing why, she felt nervous. Her life had changed so much over the past year with the Prophecy, now she had the suspicion it was about to continue changing.

"My parents will be waiting up. I should go." Hermione said, regretting the words as soon as she said them. Draco broke their eye contact and his shoulders slumped slightly, as if her words had been the exact opposite of what he's wanted to hear.

"Draco," Hermione attempted to repair her damage. "I love you, and would love nothing more than to remain by your side forever, but your mother is still in mourning, as are you no doubt, and you don't need me hanging around your home. I'm sorry, Draco. But I'll see you tomorrow night at the Weasley's."

Draco nodded, now the one looking into the flames. Hermione left him with a long kiss, and after she threw a handful of powder into the flames, she was gone. He sighed and turned purposefully to find Narcissa.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Mother, I want to speak to you about something very important to me." Draco said as he entered her bedroom. He strode purposefully to the armchair that sat near the window and stood next to it, obviously too wrapped up in thought to sit down.

"Of course," Narcissa said, placing her book down on the covers next to her. "What is it?"

"I love Hermione, mum." He said simply. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with her. But it's hard for us when we live so far apart to spend as much time as we want to with each other."

"You're the master of this manor now, Draco. You can do whatever it is you want." His mother told him, attempting to hide the smile on her lips. Narcissa had known that it would only be a matter of time before Draco talked to her about Hermione.

"Don't make fun of this situation, I need you to be serious." Draco told her. "Tell me what to do. When was it you realized you wanted to be with father for the rest of your life? And what did you do about it? I can't get through ten minutes without thinking about Hermione at least eighty five times, unless she's right next to me."

Narcissa sat up straighter under her bed sheets and fixed her son with a leveled stare. "Hermione is perfect for you, Draco. Both you and I know that. I also think we both know what you intend to do about it, and this little consultation is a round about way of asking if I would mind if Hermione moved in with us. Am I correct?"

Draco wasn't surprised that his mother could see through his questioning. "Yes."

Narcissa thought for only a brief moment, before saying, "I think if we consider recent events, it would be a good step for both of us to have someone else around the house. Otherwise it's too empty, and all we can think about is the person missing."

"So you wouldn't mind if she moved in with us? If she wants to, that is?" Draco asked her, a crease furrowing his brow.

"I would love to see more of Hermione. Not only because she's a lovely girl, but because she so obviously makes you happy." She said, causing Draco to slump in the armchair in relief.

"Thanks." Was all Draco could manage, as his thoughts suddenly consisted of the different approaches he could use to ask Hermione.

"You'll find the perfect situation to ask her soon enough." Narcissa said, trying to ease his thoughts. "Now go away, because I'm very tired. If you wouldn't mind, please turn the light off on your way out. Goodnight, Draco."

"Night mum." Draco said, switching off the light as he passed the door. He slowly closed the door with a soft click, and walked away, silently thanking his mother for being so understanding.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

**A/N- **Ok, I received a special request to thank each of my reviewers in turn from Karma Chameleon. So, I think it's only fitting to thank Karma Chameleon first, for the shameless demand for publicity . (Just Kidding, Karma Chameleon. Thanks for putting the bullet under my but to thank you guys individually. I'm too busy writing on my fic, that I forget to thank the wonderful people who do me the honor of reading it.)

Galaxia Dawn – although our e-mails sadly seemed to have ceased, you remain a loyal reader and reviewer of my writing and I thank you for it.

TriGemini – I appreciate your long reviews and wonderful feedback. It's lovely as an author to see quotes from my fic in a review, it helps me feel as if some of my humour has been acknowledged.

Luna – for your continuous reviews and extremely positive remarks.

Jinenji – I think staying alive is a wonderful New Years resolution. I hope you don't mind if I adopt that one too. Thanks for your reviews, which are always one of the first each time I post a new chapter.

Bookwormer – I truly appreciate your feedback and ability to spot mistakes where I cannot. I know I should use a beta reader, but I'm at a lack of one at the moment. Sorry for my slip ups, and thank you for continuing to read my work even with its errors. Have a wonderful holiday season, and I hope that homework no longer takes your life away. (I visited your homepage.)

apparateawayhplivesagain – Thanks for your reviews. I think my resolution, aside form staying alive will be to finish this fic by the end of summer – so hopefully I'll keep it. (By the way, for those of you scattered about the world, the end of summer for me in Melbourne, Australia, is the end of February.)

hot skittles – Thanks for believing my sequel is better than the average. I need the confidence.

BlueEyedAngel636 – thanks for your reviews, and your want for me to continue writing, even if it means _another _sequel. I doubt that'll happen though, I have a new fic underway.

Ren117 – I love that I'm one of only five authors on your favorite authors list. Thanks for the honor. I think your idea is a good one, I'll try have this fic complete by the end of summer.

Hells Roses – small reviews, greatly appreciated.

BigRed20 – I'm glad you find my writing funny. Thanks for the reviews.

Snow-Queen1 – You mentioned on your homepage your not much into Harry Potter anymore, or not as obsessed as you used to be. Therefore I love it that you're still reading my Harry Potter fanfiction with interest. But remember, absence makes the heart grow fonder. You'll be writing HP fics again in no time!

Oscurita di Vita – Wow! You say you've read The Cabin five times already? I haven't even read it more than two. You are one dedicated fan. I truly love your enthusiasm for my writing, thank you. And it's awesome to be appreciated by a fellow Melbournian. Now I know you're out there, but have no idea who you are…ooh, the mysteries of life.

mesmer – Short and sweet. Thanks for taking the time to read and review.

elements-of-the-soul – thanks for your reviews, and in answer to your question posted with chapter three, I do hope to have something published one day. And if I do, I'll be sure to let you know!

dreamaker13 – I'm so happy you enjoyed The Cabin, and in answer to your question as to whether they're going to get married…you'll just have to wait and find out. Although I have sneaking suspicion you know the answer to that already.

bLoOmyLiScIoUs – Thank you for your continuous reviews for my writings. Hmm, 'BloomyLiscious'…I wonder if that's in regards to a certain Orlando Bloom, or if for some unfathomable reason you find spring appetizing…most definitely the latter.

sallene – I'm glad you enjoy my writing style, it's taken a while to get to this point. (You'll notice the beginning of the Cabin could use some rewriting.) Thanks for your reviews.

RebelRikki – Thank you for you undying reviews. Your remarks and heartening words have given me enthusiasm to continue.

friticatized – So my posting the Manor made you happy? I'm obliged to be able to do so. Thank you.

StrGzr974 – I'm so pleased people are finding my fic funny. Thanks for your reviews, they're greatly appreciated.

Da-ReDhEdEd-WeIrDo – Jamie, thanks so much for all your reviews, they've accumulated and over time become something I love to see in my inbox. Ta very much mate…you redheaded weirdo.

mrs. felton- 27 – I'm glad you think my fic is great. Thanks for telling me so.

TiCkLeD PiNk89 – Thanks for the reviews and for the claim that The Cabin was once your favorite fic on fanfiction. That's quite an honor. Thank you.

Angela Caldwell – Sorry I took so long to post The Manor. Thanks for your good opinion that I haven't lost my writing style.

Citylove – It's nice to know that you graced my inbox with your review, yea who rarely reviews. I love it when that happens.

Shakendra – I've heard of people staying up late reading fanfictions, falling asleep in maths the next morning, or printing out fanfics to read in their classes. But no one has actually told me they plan to _dream _about what may happen next in my story. Though you probably had a nightmare or some equally uncontrollable dream, it was the thought that counted. And I know you cant possibly be serious that you prefer my writing over the books themselves, but I loved that thought too! Thanks.

l10l15l18l4l1l13 – interesting pen name, I'm sure it has a meaning I couldn't possibly imagine. (Either that or your name's Jordan.) Thank you for your reviews and I hope my holidays are splendid too, and wish the same happiness for you.

ChibiKai02 – if you're wondering why she's in pain, you probably haven't read The Cabin. It explains it all. Thanks for reviewing and appreciating the dreaded flooding to come after a late night ring of the doorbell. I hate it when that happens.

Keep – Ooh, I made you gleeful. That's a first. Hmm…I'd better cross that one off my things to do list, where it sits alongside making someone swoon…if you could do that for me I'd be grateful. Just kidding mate, thanks for the reviews.

LiLbLueangeL1223 – Thanks for your review, sorry to have kept you out of bed!

TN-Chic101 – I'm glad you loved the Cabin. Hopefully the Manor lives to be as good for you. Thanks for your reviews.

finally-defeated – I know I've changed Draco a fair bit over the course of The Cabin and the Manor, but I hope it's been gradual enough to make it plausible. Thanks for your review, it's alright to go "Aww…" over Draco. Sometimes I do as I'm writing it, but shh, don't tell anyone.

Chewy518 – Thanks for reviewing. I'm so happy you love this story.

ApParate away dm – I'm afraid to inform you that in reading my fic you will be unable to apparate Draco Malfoy away. If you attempt it, Hermione will do something drastic, perhaps resulting in the loss of all three of your lives. Thanks for reviewing, but remember to keep your distance…Hermione's watching you. And so am I.

harmony727 – Thanks for reviewing. Even the shortest reviews mean so much.

Tenshi-Kaikou – Even though you don't have much to say, I really do love it how you leave a review just to let me know you liked it. Thanks for dropping me those few lines.

xunderdogx – The manor has been called many things, and cute seems to be up there with the masses! Thanks for your input. Your reviews are appreciated.

Spordelia Chase – Thanks for reviewing the start of this fic. I hope you're still reading this. Happy holidays.

Crystallized Snow thanks for your review. Not sure if you still follow this fic, because you mentioned you dislike the Harry/ Ginny pairing, and mine's quite prominent. Hope you are.

Kou Shun'u – It's good to know that I'm not the only one who is dangerous with tea. I'm happy that I made you laugh…or nearly laugh if tea wasn't in your mouth. Thanks.

AnniePotter2004 – Might have to change your pen name to AnniePotter2005 now Annie. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope to include lots of romance and fluff just for you!

kitt90 – Swizzle sticks are long glass rods that are used to swirl a drink in its cup when it's a combination of more than one type of liquid, to help mix them up. A completely lifeless object. Hopefully this adds to the humor of that chapter. Thanks for your review.

Hells Angels – You're right, writing this fic is lots of fun. Thank-you for your reviews.

sakura angel90 – Thanks for the well wishes, have a great holiday. Thanks for reading and enjoying my fic.

svetlaella – Can I ask you what 'pwn' means? Call me a loser for not knowing, but you wrote it twice in one review and I'm curious. Thanks for the review though. I'm sure pwn means something good, because you wrote it with such enthusiasm.

Asphodel Oakburt – thanks! Nice to know who my biggest fan really is.

Boonzie – How wow, I'm the only person on your favorite authors list. I feel so special! Thanks for that, and for reviewing.

Dmhg – Thanks mate, the manor is nearly complete. Please stick with it till the end!

Lyannie – Thanks for your review, and I hope it really is a keeper for you.

Lolabel – I appreciate you reviewing my fic. Thanks for the time you spend reading it. I'm glad I made you laugh when Draco started hyperventilating. He has no control, that one…tsk tsk.

LadyMcBeth – Jeepers, reading all of the Cabin in one sitting is quite extraordinary. I'm happy you found it so captivating. Thanks for reviewing.

Alexis – I love your small review, you said it all in one line. Thanks for believing I haven't lost my touch.

g – Thanks for your reviews. I love the passion you put into them!

BioFreak – I'm so happyyou loved the cabin and now the manor, and I have to admit that I'm a sucker for romance too. Then again, I suppose that's obvious considering what I'm writing.

Dmbabe – (Who has now changed her name to Enigmatic Wayfarer) Thanks a massive bundle. Although you have failed to actually review this story, your laughter and inconspicuous reading over my shoulder as I type have been taken to heart. Even though it drives me crazy when people read over my shoulder, at least I know its that captivating. Thanks my darling. Bless your annoying heart, sister.

And thanks to all of you who don't signed in to review. Your reviews are all greatly appreciated too – tickled pink89, Lazy, Chrissy, xOxOkIsSmYaSsXoXo, Jessica, insanemaniac, jinet and Lauren.

I apologize to any reviewers who have reviewed only chapter one and haven't received a thank you. I don't want to waste the time on this and not on my fanfic, when I'm probably thanking people who have abandoned my fic three chapters ago. Sorry, review this chapter if you long for a thank-you, and haven't received one already.


	6. The Burrow

**Chapter six – The Burrow.**

The Burrow was as dangerous looking as Hermione remembered it, and she found that she couldn't keep the smile off her face as she watched Draco's expression as they approached it. He seemed wary, and glanced at Hermione to ensure that this pile of rooms and extensions was actually where they intended to enter.

"Is it safe to go inside there?" He asked. "I mean, has it ever fallen down before?"

"Once last year," Hermione lied. "But no one was seriously hurt, aside from Ron's sister Freda who died."

Draco stopped dead in his tracks, and Pansy who was walking on the other side of him paused too. Pansy realised that Hermione was kidding long before Draco, and started walking towards the house again. Draco reached out and grabbed Pansy's arm.

"Pansy, maybe that's not a good idea." Draco told her. "Perhaps we should just wait here, and hope we eat outdoors tonight."

"Draco, I wasn't being serious." Hermione said. "There is no other female Weasley aside from Ginny. Out of the past three generations, she's been the only one who was born into the Weasley name, not married. Freda doesn't exist."

"Because she's dead." Draco muttered, now knowing he was made a fool of, but not wanting to get embarrassed. Feigning stupidity was his safety net.

Pansy smiled at him, and they resumed walking towards the house. But after only a few steps her smile faded, and she made eye contact with Hermione. "What are his brother's names again?"

"The twins are Fred and George. Don't bother about trying to tell them apart. They're too identical for that, and they pretend to be each other anyway. They'd make sure you never got them right. The next one up is Percy, you probably remember that from when he was Head Boy."

Pansy frowned and shook her head. "Slytherins don't really bother with that. The Professors don't trust us to be fair to the other Houses, so we never get chosen as Head Boy or Girl, so we don't care."

"Fair enough." Hermione commented. "If I were you, I wouldn't bother trying to make conversation with Percy. People say he has a tendency to be snobby, though I don't really see it. Then there's the older two, Charlie and Bill, but they're not home at the moment. And you both know Ginny already."

"Right." Pansy said, beginning to look nervous as they got closer to the Burrow. "And his mum's name is Molly, and his dad is…Archie?"

"Arthur." Hermione corrected. "Don't worry. If you forget, just call him Mr. Weasley."

Pansy nodded, and then Hermione noticed that Draco did too. She smiled to herself, realising that this was probably one of the first times they'd be dining with a family that wasn't associated with the Dark Lord. Besides that, Pansy and Draco both felt the need to impress the Weasley family. Draco did because Hermione was like a daughter to them, and knew that Hermione wouldn't like it if they believed she was dating a loser. And Pansy did, because it was obvious to Hermione that she hoped to date Ron, therefore should get on his family's good side so maybe they'd encourage.

They reached the door and Hermione opened it without knocking. As she beckoned the other two to follow her in, she was suddenly engulfed in a pair of arms. Molly hugged her tightly and didn't let her go for at least half a minute. "Hermione, my dear. How close we came to losing you, and here you are, as healthy as ever. Come in, come in!"

Molly pulled away to allow the three of them to enter her house. Draco immediately began looking around to see how the place actually stayed together. When he was convinced that the absence of walls or posts in a few places made it technically impossible, he conceded there must be decades of spells over it to hold it together.

"Molly, this is Draco Malfoy," Hermione said, introducing her boyfriend to her for the first time. Draco began extending his hand towards her, but let it fall when he found he was being hugged tightly.

"Pleased to meet you," He said, his voice muffled as he spoke into her shoulder.

"And this," Hermione continued when Molly stepped away, "is Pansy Parkinson."

It took Molly only a moments pause to hug Pansy as well. Draco frowned at her ability to do that to strangers. As Molly pulled away from Pansy, Ron strolled into the room whistling. He froze with one foot off the ground and his mouth in an 'o' shape when he saw who his mum had just hugged.

"Hi Ron." Pansy greeted him quietly, causing the other three to turn and look at him.

Ron flushed and placed his foot back on the ground. "Hey Pansy." After a moments silence and a meaningful clearing of the throat from Hermione, Ron noticed the others. "And Hermione and Draco."

Hermione smiled at him, and Draco raised his eyebrows in amusement. Molly didn't seem to notice anything strange, and told them to follow her out to the kitchen. Draco expected to be led through a maze of wonky walls and perched rooms, and was mildly surprised when the kitchen was in fact the next room.

A year ago he would have looked upon the small kitchen and cramped wooden table with distain, but now he accepted it as it was. Molly quickly pulled up three extra chairs and squashed them in between the eight chairs that were already sitting there. "That should be enough." She said, walking back into the kitchen to check on her cooking.

Harry was sitting at the table next to Ginny, and Percy was at the other end reading the Daily Prophet. "Hey guys, how are you going?" Harry greeted them, standing up to give Hermione a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Hermione then sat next to Harry, and motioned for Draco to sit next to her.

Pansy stood awkwardly, obviously unsure of where to sit. Ron stood a few meters away, appearing abnormally uncomfortable for a person in his own home. Pansy glanced at him, waiting to see where he was going to sit. When he made no move but to look down at his feet with new found interest, Pansy sighed in resignation at abandoning subtlety. "Which is your chair, Ron?"

He looked at her. "Do you mean generally or for tonight?"

"Um…" Pansy thought for a moment, obviously confused by the question. "Generally."

"Where Draco's sitting." He told her, smiling slightly. "But tonight I think I'll sit here." He pointed to a chair on the opposite side of the table, made his way over to it, and sat down.

"Breaking tradition." Pansy noted, trailing after him and seating herself on his right. "Rebel."

Not long after, Molly called out that dinner was ready. Those seated at the table stood and walked over to the kitchen to assist Molly in bringing all the dished to the table, but the mayhem that occurred after that caused Draco to sit down hurriedly. People were suddenly everywhere. Fred and George ran down the stairs and right into their mothers arms, loudly exclaiming "Oh mother, how wonderful! We are overjoyed that our evening meal is prepared!" Arthur walked in from the alcove that posed as his study, and sat down at the head of the table. Harry paced back and forth, carrying plates and cutlery from the kitchen to the table. Hermione rushed off to wash her hands because she had been holding an excited Pigwidgeon, who was now zooming about the room. Pansy stood around trying to help, but didn't know where anything was, so mainly got in the way. And to top it off, Ginny began ordering Ron to use his wand to carry the large pot of stew, not carry it himself.

"You'll drop it everywhere! Just use your wand, you idiot." She exclaimed.

"Ginny Weasley!" Molly scolded. "Do not talk to your brother that way!"

"But he will mum." Ginny defended herself. "He's only carrying it himself to show off, and that's stupid if it means there's no stew for dinner!"

"I am not showing off Ginny." Ron said quickly, walking out of the kitchen with the pot and heading towards the table. "It's not that heavy."

"Ron, I know you're strong and masculine and all that crap, but that won't stop you tripping over something." Ginny explained, realising that it would be too mean to embarrass Ron in front of Pansy. Then she spotted the something on the floor that Ron was destined to trip over. "Like that handbag!"

But it was too late. Ron tripped over the handbag that was sitting by the doorway dividing the kitchen from the dining table. Everyone froze and looked over to see if the stew could be saved, but it was clear the moment it became airborne that it was doomed. However, Draco was not so sure. In one fluid motion he whipped out his wand from his pocket.

Aiming it at the falling stew, he shouted, "Suspendium!"

A yellow flash of light later, the stew hung in the air, millimeters off the ground. Unfortunately, in his haste, Draco had aimed the spell badly and hit Ron as well. Although his face was stuck in an expression of alarm while looking down at the stew, his aurora became more hostile.

"You didn't have to do that." he told Draco through clenched teeth. "I could have saved it."

Ginny's loud scoff was easily discernable amongst the large group of people. Molly bustled into the kitchen and came out a moment later with a large clean pot. With a bit of maneuvering, she placed it underneath the suspended stew. Glancing then at Draco, she nodded her head.

He said the counter charm, and the stew plopped quickly into the new pot. Fred snatched the old pot out of the air before it hit the ground, then raised the new one with his wand and placed it on the table. "Wouldn't that have been easier, Ron?"

Ron muttered under his breath, and sat down at the table.

"Good job on your quick thinking, Draco." Arthur said to him. His tone was impressed, yet there was still a slight wariness in his gaze, obviously due to the fact that Draco was the son of a Death Eater who had given him much grief over the years.

Once they were all settled down at the small table, everyone began dishing up their plates and eating. Draco and Pansy found it a very interesting experience. They'd never eaten a meal with such a loud and boisterous group of witches and wizards. Fred and George talked consistently throughout the whole meal, to everyone and no one, but mainly to each other. And Ginny continued scolding Ron, often repeating the phrase, "I told you so."

Draco turned to Hermione. "This food is really good." He was surprised at how delicious it all tasted.

"Molly's always been the best cook I know." She said. Apparently hearing her name, Molly looked up at Hermione, then to Draco.

"How are you feeling, my dear?" She asked him with genuine concern.

Draco frowned slightly, then realised she must have been referring to recent events. "I'm getting there." He replied, glancing at Hermione to ensure he had given an appropriate answer. Hermione smiled at him, and placed her hand comfortingly on his knee under the table.

"If there's anything you or your mother ever need, don't hesitate to ask." Molly told him, then turned her attention to Percy as he began reading an advertisement for second hand clothes from the newspaper.

Draco only had time to ponder Molly's considerate offer for a few moments before one of the twins started talking to him. _It's Fred_, he guessed. _No, it's George_. _Hold up…_Draco examined his face carefully. _No, it_ is_ Fred._ _Wait a second…that was definitely George._ _Whatever,_ thought Draco, _I'll just call them both Twinny Boy_.

"So Draco," Twinny Boy started. "You and Hermione, huh?"

Frowning at the obvious statement, he nodded, "Yep. Me and Hermione."

"You've been together for a long while now." Twinny Boy stated, a small mischievous grin spreading on his face.

Before answering, Draco glanced at Hermione to check how safe he was. Her eyes were cast downwards in ignorance of the conversation, but her lips curled upwards slightly in a tiny smile. Draco knew that a conversation with the twins must be a standard procedure at the Burrow, and Hermione wasn't going to bail him out.

"Yeah, we have." He replied, before shoveling a spoonful of the stew-that-nearly-lost-its-life in his mouth.

The other twin, who was sitting next to his brother, turned his attention to the conversation at hand. "Surely a long while is enough time to have…achieved a few things." He said to Draco, raising an eyebrow up and down a few times so Draco couldn't miss his point.

Draco's mouth dropped slightly, and he scanned the table to ensure neither of the Weasley parents had heard. When he saw them absorbed in a conversation with Percy, he figured that the twins would know better than to bring up such a topic with their mother listening.

"Um, I suppose you're right." Draco conceded. "We developed a deadly potion, a killer of a spell and overcame Voldemort." At the mention of Voldemort, Harry's head snapped up and began listening in to their conversation. "I suppose that could be considered achieving a few things."

"No, no, I think Fred's right." The first twin said to him, and by doing so uncovering himself as George. "After all those stressful events, you'd need to relax a bit. And what better way to do that than with each other…privately."

"True, true." Draco nodded, now starting to grasp the concept of this game. Don't let them force you into admitting what they're hinting about. Everything has a double meaning. "Hermione would massage my neck, and I would rub her feet. After she washed them, mind you."

Fred and George exchanged a glance with raised eyebrows, and growing grins. "Massages are very sensual, so it only makes sense to give them to each other when you've just finished the Supreme Sensual Deed."

"You're right." As Draco said this, the twins, Harry and Hermione all leaned a little bit closer to hear how Draco could possibly make _that_ ambiguous. "I cooked for Hermione on several occasions, and in return she'd give me a massage. And vice versa. Hermione makes a mean chicken stroganoff."

Harry raised his eyebrows at that one, the twins smiled in disbelief and Hermione forgot to be unaware and turned to watch the discussion. George said, "You think _cooking _is the Supreme Sensual Deed? I thought you were an eighteen year old male." He paused for a moment, then winked at Hermione. "I suppose you've had sex too, though?"

Draco nearly laughed at George's blunt question. He'd apparently gotten sick of beating around the bush. However instead of answering, he decided to remain silent so George would justify his assumption. After half a minute, George realised Draco wasn't going to reply.

"I mean, you've been together many months, have faced death together (apparently that brings people closer) and Hermione's evasiveness about sex has surely made you more determined. I know she can hold out a long time, but gives in eventually."

Hermione's head snapped over to look at George, while Draco did the same thing in Hermione's direction. Breaking the silence a few seconds later, Draco asked quietly, "And what makes you so sure of that?"

"Well, I'd know, wouldn't I?" George told him, and then he lowered his voice. "Hey, this means you've seen the scar she's got. Looks like it would have nasty before it healed over, doesn't it?"

Draco sat frozen for a while as George continued. "You know the one she's got right about…here." He stood up and put a finger on the point just above his backside. When he sat down again, he looked at Hermione, who was barely repressing a smile.

Draco turned to her and whispered, "I don't think this is very funny. Make them stop."

Hermione nodded and looked at the twins. "That's enough guys. You've won."

Both the Twinny Boys whooped in success and slapped hands. "Every time!"

After that conversation, Draco remained silent. He knew he had been part of the twins' joke, but he couldn't stop wondering how George could have known about Hermione's scar. Not long after they had all finished dessert, the table was cleared and people scattered about the house.

Hermione and Draco sat in the lounge room on the couch, with Ron and Pansy playing chess at the table. Harry and Ginny had gone outside to ride Harry's Firebolt, the twins had disappeared somewhere, and Percy remained at the kitchen table talking to his parents.

"Molly and Arthur seem to like you." Hermione stated to Draco, hoping to bring him out of his silence.

"Mmm." He agreed, keeping his eyes on Ron and Pansy's game of chess. Hermione frowned at him and poked him in the stomach.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked him bluntly, causing him to finally meet eyes with her. "If this is about Fred and George, you just have to ignore them. They try to make everyone one feel uncomfortable."

"It's not that." Draco told her, turning his eyes away from hers once more. "It's just…" Suddenly he frowned as a thought reoccurred to him. "Sorry for my prying, but how did George know about your scar?"

Hermione lowered her eyelashes for a moment, "He did make it sound like we'd been together before, didn't he?"

Draco nodded, waiting for her explanation. She continued, "Well, he would know the scar was there, considering he put it there."

Draco's eyes widened, "How?"

"Practical joke gone wrong." Hermione stated, then said "And I don't like talking about it."

"Fair enough." Draco wrung his hands in his lap, and Hermione looked at him in confusion.

"Draco." She started, "You said that George knowing about my scar wasn't what was bothering you. So what is it? Because you look nervous."

Draco swallowed his nerves and decided that if he didn't ask now, he never would. "Well, Hermione my love." As he said this he took her hand in his, and turned to look at her. "I've been thinking that your stay at the Manor made me feel so happy. You seemed to just fit right in with the swing of things, and you brought at least one smile to our morbid home. I know you're not completely better, and may need some rest and caring for occasionally, but I'm willing to do that for you myself."

Hermione looked at Draco with a slightly stunned expression, however the tiny flicker of a smile underneath gave Draco the guts to finish off.

"What I'm getting at is, I love you, and want to see you everyday. I want to see you the moment I wake up in the morning, before I leave for work, the moment I get home until I close my eyes each night. Hermione," He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. "Would you like to live at the Manor with me?"

Hermione smiled at him so wide he knew immediately it was a yes. "I would love to." She whispered, before Draco leaned towards her and covered her mouth with his own.

They were left alone for a few minutes longer before Ron made a sound of exaltation. "Thank god." he said, standing in relief.

Hermione and Draco pulled apart and looked over to where Ron had been playing chess with Pansy. By the look of the board, Pansy had almost won, but Ron had pulled through in the end and caught her in check mate.

"You were nearly beaten Ron." Hermione commented. "That never happens. I think you've finally found yourself a rival in chess."

Ron turned and regarded Pansy in contemplation. "We'll have to play again sometime. It has been many years since I've faced a challenge."

"Most certainly." Pansy agreed. "I haven't been beaten since I was thirteen. Revenge will have to be delivered." She paused for a moment. "Perhaps at the reunion?"

"Deal." Ron extended his hand and Pansy shook it. Draco and Hermione both noticed they held each others hands a fraction longer than was necessary, and shared a smile. Ron wouldn't be alone for much longer.

A/N – Only a few chapters left. Thanks for allowing me to finish this fic. Happy reading and reviewing! Halfling.


	7. The Reunion

**Chapter seven – The Reunion.**

"Remember that we love you, Hermione. And if anything happens, we hope you'll not hesitate to come back home." Hermione's dad said to her that following Tuesday, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Although we're not completely used to having you living at home, what with you boarding at Hogwarts for seven years, your mother and I had hoped to see you a little bit more often than that."

"You will dad." Hermione reassured him, looking over to the kitchen where her mother was busying herself packing something. "Tell me how mum goes without me, will you?"

"Sure, love."

Hermione's mum bustled out of the kitchen, and over to where the two Grangers were standing by the fireplace. "Here, Hermione my dear. I made you some brownies and a full pot of vegetable soup, just to settle you in."

"My, this isn't school camp." Hermione reminded her gently. "But I'll be glad to take it with me."

"Make sure you come and visit every Saturday night like you said you would."

"If not more often," Hermione's mum added quickly.

Her parents shared a look and her mum accidentally let one of her tears slip down her face. Hermione took a deep breath and said with a quaver in her voice, "Well, see you next Saturday."

She gave her parents a hug and a kiss, then picked up her bags, ignoring the tightness in her throat. "I love you both."

They voiced their love for her in return, then stepped back as Hermione took a handful of Floo powder, threw it in the fireplace and said, "The Malfoy Manor." She stepped into the fireplace and turned to face her parents, and as she saw her father standing with his arm around her mother's shoulders, watching her sadly, she sniffled.

A few seconds later, Hermione stepped out into the Malfoy Manor's living room. Draco immediately stood from the seat he'd been waiting in, and took her bags from her. Placing them beside the fire, he looked back at Hermione and noticed her eyes were shrouded by tears.

"If you want to go back home, I won't be offended." He said to her seriously. "You have just left school, I can understand if you'd like to live at home for a while longer."

"No Draco." She told him, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "I want this to be my home."

Draco smiled at her, and kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled back, and only then noticed that she was holding Tupperware. "Um…what's that plastic thing got in it? Did you brew a potion?"

"No, actually my mum cooked a soup this afternoon, and said I should bring it with me." Hermione explained. "I suppose you think that it's stupid."

Draco frowned at her. "Of course not." He prized back the lid and smelt inside. "Hmm…I think we'll have this for dinner tonight."

Hermione smiled at him. Although she knew he'd meant it when he'd offered to go back to her parents place, she had seen it in his eyes that it would have been hard to let her go. She loved Draco, and knew that she would adjust quickly to living at the Manor. Draco picked up her bags and motioned her to lead the way to his room.

Once they had unpacked her bags and given the soup to the house elves down in the kitchens, they sat down in the lounge room. It wasn't long however, before their privacy was intruded by Harry stepping out of the flames of the fireplace. Before he spotted the two on the couch, he looked around the room in awe, "My God," He breathed, taking in the size of the room and the expensive antiques that filled it, "Hermione's going to be loaded."

"Good evening Harry." Draco said with a raised eyebrow. Harry jumped and noticed them sitting right in front of him. He smiled at them in an almost guilty way, and waved feebly in greeting.

"Hey." Harry stepped away from the fireplace, and glanced over his shoulder. "I hope you don't mind the intrusion. We just thought we'd come over and give you a house warming party…in a sense." He frowned, trying to think of a way to explain what he meant. "I mean, we know this is Draco's house and has been for eighteen years, so it's more of a 'Welcome to Draco's House, Hermione' party…except we didn't bring any party supplies, just ourselves. So it's more like a 'Welcome to Draco's House, Hermione' well wishing. You know what, I think you understand, so I'll just be quiet."

"Good idea." Draco commented, though he was smiling at Harry for doing something like this for Hermione. Draco knew she was still uncomfortable with the thought that if they never had any problems as a couple, she'd never live with her parents again. Having her friends around would surely make her feel more comfortable.

"We?" Hermione questioned, shifted over on the couch so Harry could fit next to her. "Unless my eyesight's failing, or the others have turned microscopic, you're the only person here."

Harry glanced towards the fireplace then at the clock on the wall. "We said six thirty, so I don't know what's taking them so long." However, the moment he said this, the flames in the fireplace turned green and, in a tumble of arms, legs, heads and torso's, five people fell unceremoniously on to the floor.

After the scramble to get up, Ron, Ginny, Pansy, Fred and George stood facing the three sitting on the couch. Hermione looked at the twins in slight confusion – she didn't expect them to come to something like this. Then she noticed them looking around the place with interest, and figured they'd come mainly to have a peek at the Manor.

"Hermione!" Ginny greeted her with a smile, placing a box on the ground and moving forwards to hug her. "This is so exciting! I can't believe you've moved in to Draco's place with him. And goodness me," she said, looking around her, "what a place it is."

Draco rolled his eyes slightly at the comment, but with a glance at him, Hermione could tell he was flattered with the compliment. Draco summoned the butler and asked if tea could be brought to the sitting room, and they all sat down on the couches.

"So," Ron started as he sat on the couch next to Pansy, a tea cup held awkwardly between his thumb and index finger. Apparently he had grown was used to holding bottles of butterbeer, as opposed to china tea cups. "This is your home now, Hermione." He looked around and tried his best not to appear intimidated, "Impressive."

"Thanks." Draco said. "Lucius designed it himself. Mum decorated it herself. And, well, I haven't done anything but live in it, but since the ownership situation has turned around, I think I'll be doing a lot maintenance work. There are many Dark Magic objects are the place that I think it's time to get rid of."

There was silence for a few minutes, and a house elf tip toed into the room and placed a plate of cookies and Hermione's mother's brownies on the table. When he had left, Hermione gave Draco a disapproving look. He sighed and shared a glance with Harry and Ron. "She'll win, mate." Ron told him. "You can fight as hard and as long as you want. But she'll always win."

"I think you're at the point where I should give you the same advice." Draco said, not intending to embarrass Ron, but doing so all the same. Draco glanced meaningfully at Pansy, who tried to keep a smile off her face when she saw Ron blush. "She's hard to handle, will find out any secret you have, and will not take much encouragement to go after what she wants, whether you want her to have it or not."

Ron, after appearing ill at ease for a few moments, simply decided to pretend he hadn't heard Draco speaking and continued, "I think it would be easier to just get rid of the house elves now to save time and arguments."

"And I think you should just ask Pansy out to save awkward situations and the embarrassment of being asked out by _her_ when she decides she's waited long enough." Draco said raising his eyebrows. Once he said that, Hermione, Harry, Fred, George and Pansy all turned to face Ron. Ron sat staring at Draco in horror at what he'd just said. Slowly, he glanced around at the others. Hermione smiled at him encouragingly, Harry smiled sympathetically and shrugged in apology that he was unable to help, Fred winked, George glanced at Pansy and made a 'not bad' face, and Ginny sighed in exasperation. "Hurry up, Ronald."

Ron then turned slower still to look uncertainly at Pansy. She was watching him curiously, wondering if he'd be able to ask her out under such pressure. She'd never been so attracted to any guy before, but no guy had ever been so timid about her before. Pansy could tell that Ron was most likely about to pass out. Before the opportunity could be passed up, she quickly said, "Ron, I would love it very much if you would be my boyfriend."

Ron's eyes widened and then he sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God. Yes please, Pansy." Pansy grinned at his response, while the twins whooped in amusement and Harry breathed sigh of relief for his best mate. Pansy leaned forwards and kissed him softly on the lips. She pulled away and Draco could tell Ron had no idea where to look. He settled for grinning stupidly at his hands.

"Well, that settles that." Ginny said, clasping her hands together in conclusion of the matter. "I'm very happy for you, Ron."

"Yeah, so are we." Fred said, "It's a good thing she's a confident girl who had the guts to ask you, or you'd never get together."

"Then again," George added, "We could have asked her for you."

"I have a younger brother…" Fred said, adopting a high, childish voice.

"And he's your age…" George continued the imaginary conversation.

"And he likes you…"

"He's the red headed one, with arms like a chimpanzee…"

"The best friend of the black haired scar head…"

"And the bushy haired know-it-all…"

"Hey!" Hermione interrupted.

"But he's too scared to even talk to you…" Fred continued.

"So will you go out with him…?" They both said in unison.

"Shut up." Ron mumbled at them, while Draco chuckled to himself, remembering similar situations in primary school. Hermione smiled when she noticed that through Ron's embarrassment he managed to find Pansy's hand and hold on to it, gently caressing her skin with his thumb.

"Now that that's over," Ginny said, obviously wanting to move on to the next topic, "we have something to give you both. And we hope Draco doesn't mind, because we forgot to consult him on the matter."

Draco shifted worriedly in his seat, hoping it was nothing he would oppose to too badly. Ginny stood and walked over to the box she had placed on the ground upon her arrival. Picking it up, she handed it to Hermione and Draco, who exchanged a glance and then began ripping at the paper that it had been wrapped in. As they pulled the paper off and reached to lift the lid, the box gave a twitch. "Bloody hell! It's alive." Draco exclaimed, his curiosity piqued.

Hermione looked at Ginny with the faint suspicion of what it might be. In that time, Draco had managed to lift the lid, and when she looked down she found herself staring in to a pair of large, brown eyes. The brown eyes were connected to the most beautiful black puppy she had ever seen.

"No way!" she cried, reaching in and picking up the little pup, which gave a soft yawn of contentment. "I can't believe this!" she turned to look at Draco, whose eyes were wide as he stared in shock at the canine in Hermione's arms.

"Um…" he stuttered, apparently unsure of what to say. "I can't believe it either."

"Is it ok with you Draco?" Harry asked him quietly, once Hermione moved to sit with the puppy on the floor with the other two girls. "I mean, it is a pretty big thing to add in to the house hold. I have to admit that it was all Ginny's doing. She said you didn't have any pets aside from dragons…?" Harry trailed off, apparently wanting confirmation of this piece of information. Draco nodded at him, and Harry continued with an awed expression, "So she bought a puppy, then told us all to pay up, because _apparently _we all said we'd chip in."

"No, it's fine with me." Draco said, after watching Hermione for a few minutes with the puppy. She had the biggest smile on her face, and when she lay back on the ground, the pup padded over to her and climbed over her face causing her to laugh hysterically. "Anything that makes her that happy will have to stay."

Harry also smiled at Hermione's laughter, but when she turned to him ten minutes later, his smile vanished after she voiced a question she'd obviously been thinking about. "Harry?" she said.

To which he replied, "Hmmm?"

"Um, I was thinking…" she paused, obviously very unsure about asking him whatever it was. "This puppy is going to need a name."

"You want me to name it?" Harry asked her uncertainly, quickly considering this and coming up with Black Puppy and Doggy. "Or, do you want to name it after me?"

"Well, no actually." Hermione said, swallowing. "Is it too much to ask, or can I name it in memory of Sirius?"

Harry sat stunned with an unreadable expression on his face. He stared at the puppy, and as he watched its pure black little body padding around the room, a sad look crossed his eyes. This caused Ginny to move over to him and take his hand comfortingly. The puppy stopped sniffing Hermione's shoes to watch Ginny sit next to Harry, and then looked at Harry as if noticing him for the first time. He waddled over and attempted to jump up into Harry's lap, but failed and fell to the floor with a plop. Harry smiled sadly at him and picked him up. As if understanding Harry's pain, the pup raised its head and licked Harry on the face.

Harry looked at Hermione, and nodded. "Ok." He agreed. "Sirius it is."

That Sunday was the reunion Narcissa had planned. Invitations had gone out to all students who had been in seventh year with Draco and Hermione, and some students from other years who had been friends with them were invited also.

Narcissa stressed all Sunday morning, worried the food wouldn't be appropriate, the music would be hissed at and everyone would leave early. Draco told her sternly to stop being stupid many times, and in the end only stopped fretting when Hermione sat her down with a cup of tea and read her a book to take her mind off things.

Just before lunch, Draco came into the lounge and reminded Hermione that their friends would be arriving in half an hour, and she should probably get changed. Hermione nodded and finished reading the chapter to Narcissa, who in that time fell in to a light doze. Draco sat waiting on the couch opposite them, watching Hermione and thinking about how fortunate he was to have her. Narcissa needed her just as much as Draco did. There were some things that only females knew how to deal with; mainly when it involved other females. When she finished the chapter, Hermione placed the book on the table next to Narcissa and silently exited the room with Draco.

They walked through the corridor and came to the bottom of the marble staircase leading up to Draco's room. "I'll let you get changed in peace." Draco told her, stopping and resting his hand on the banister. "Otherwise I'll be tempted to stop you half way through…"

Hermione laughed and smiled at him fondly, then walked up the stairs of the Malfoy Manor, pausing half way up to glance over her shoulder at him. Draco felt his stomach flip slightly at the look in her eyes, and he reached a hand into his pocket to finger something small and smooth. 'Soon,' he told himself sternly. 'She can only handle one step at a time.'

Once Hermione finished changing and was walking downstairs, she heard a few familiar voices talking in the downstairs lounge. She entered with a smile, "Hello Harry. Ron." They looked up from kneeling on the floor petting Sirius to smile back.

"He is pretty cute." Ron admitted, indicating towards Sirius, who took the opportunity to crawl on to his lap and stick his nose in Ron's ear. "Aside from when he does that."

Harry laughed and walked over to give Hermione a kiss on the cheek. "How has it been living here?"

"Very different, but in a good way." She told him. "I'm so happy Harry."

Harry smiled at Hermione's happiness. "Well, now you can show off your new home to all your old school mates. Come to think of it…" he paused and exchanged a glance with Ron, "we were wondering if we could see the rest of place. Last Tuesday all we saw was this lounge room. I mean, we're sure there's more to it than this."

Hermione grinned and motioned the two out of the room. They followed her, but not before Ron had the chance to pick Sirius up and carry him with them. Hermione gave them the tour Draco had given Hermione upon her first arrival at the Malfoy Manor. By the end, Ron's eyes were popping out of his head and Harry looked at Hermione thoughtfully. "Did you have any idea that he lived like _this?_"

"Before I came here? Not really." Hermione said. "Although there was one time during the year that he mentioned inheriting the Manor and all Lucius had owned. When he put a Dragon in that category I figured the Manor would have to be fairly extensive."

"Draco has Dragons?" Ron asked incredulously, barely suppressing a scoff of disbelief.

"Just the one." Draco said from the doorway to the library. They turned to look at him as he leant against the doorframe casually. "But I may have to buy it a mate. I've been told that it's getting frustrated – if you catch my drift – and when that happens, he's a lot harder to contain. So…Hermione and I may have to take a trip to Romania to get one."

Hermione looked at Draco in shock. "You're kidding. I'm going to be choosing a dragon?"

"Sure, if you want to. It won't be too hard, because we'll have to make it's the same breed. A Romanian Longhorn. He's a beautiful creature, with dark green scales and gold horns. I've been encouraged to breed it, because Romanian Longhorn's are decreasing rapidly in numbers due to the gold horns being used as a potion ingredient."

The three friends stared at Draco as if he'd just grown a second head. "You're…going to breed dragons?" Ron asked, wondering what other highly profitable schemes Draco had in mind.

Draco nodded, then said to Ron, "I'd love to keep chatting, but I think someone has just arrived…" He peered over his shoulder to see back down the corridor. "It could be…Pansy?"

Ron's eyes lit up and he practically ran from the room. The others all exchanged smiling glances and walked downstairs to remain in the lounge to await the arrival of guests. Within the next half an hour, nearly everyone had arrived. Harry sat with Seamus, Dean, Ginny and Neville, talking seriously about the capture of Bellatrix. Neville had been given the invitation to watch the Dementor's Kiss being performed on her, due to what she did to his parents. Pansy stood in a small circle with Ron, Lavender, Parvarti, Padma, Crabbe and Goyle. Hannah Abbot and Justin Flinch-Fletchley sat hand-in-hand with the other Hufflepuff's who had shown up, still mustering up the courage to mingle with old students in a Slytherin's house. The Ravwnclaw's who had already arrived were out the back with Draco, who was showing them his Quidditch Pitch where the National Quidditch Teams often come to train. Hermione sat with Narcissa, chatting and thanking her for organizing such an event for them.

"Everyone's having such good catch up time." She continued. "None of us are used to seeing each other outside Hogwarts. But everyone's getting on fine. This is the sort of thing the Sorting Hat wanted us to do years ago."

"Sorry?" Narcissa asked in confusion.

Hermione shook her head, "Never mind, I'm just musing aloud."

"I think I'd better go check on the band. They're setting up upstairs in the hall." Narcissa said, standing and beginning to walk out of the lounge, when she was called over by Fred, to sit with George, Lee, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie. Hermione had invited them all, for although they had all left Hogwarts a few years back, she was still friends with them and thought they'd enjoy coming. Narcissa sat down tentatively with them, as she had never met them before today.

Hermione smiled when George started including Narcissa in the conversation by questioning her on if she'd ever visited their joke shop. She shook her head, and Fred slowly pulled out a canary cream and handed it to George. George looked at it with a smirk and stuffed it in his mouth. Narcissa laughed so hard when George began to sprout yellow feathers that Hermione made a mental note to invite them over more often.

Suddenly, Hermione felt a hand snake its way around her waist. She jumped in surprise and spun around to face Draco, who was looking at her pensively. "How's my girl?" he asked her, causing Hermione to smile.

"I'm alright." She replied, allowing him to take her hand and lead her out of the room. "What are the Ravenclaw's up to?"

"I showed them my Quidditch supply shed, and told them they were allowed to use any of it, but to make sure they didn't lose the snitch." Draco said, leading the way to the hall upstairs. "So they all decided to fly around for a bit, get themselves back in to the swing of thing, then challenge everyone from other houses for a friendly match. I think they're hoping to win a match…maybe win the final." Draco snorted slightly thinking about Ravenclaw beating him. "As if."

"Yeah, as if." Hermione agreed. "I mean, Harry is here, isn't he?"

Draco rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "When will you ever believe that I'm the better Quidditch player?"

"When you actually manage to beat him." She answered simply.

A/N – thank you for everything. Not finished yet, but it's drawing to a close. Please review guys!


	8. The Finale

**A/N –** It's been a long time coming, and I have no excuse for not posting sooner. I thank you all so much for reading this, and hope this ends the romance of Draco and Hermione reasonably well. I think in the future I won't write sequels, not only for my own sake, but for the sake of my poor readers. I seem to lose interest, and then the updating process becomes very stretched out.

But this is it. This is the final chapter. No more waiting. Please read, and for the last time, let me know what you think…

**Chapter eight – The Finale **

The ex-students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood around in the upstairs Hall of the Malfoy Manor. They had been listening to the band Narcissa had organized for about two hours. Many people had danced to start with, then when the food came out they all stopped and ate. Now most girls were too full to dance, and the guys hadn't really been dancing in the first place.

The final song came to a close and everyone clapped politely. Hermione glanced at Terry Boot, who was looking like he wanted to say something. "What's up, Terry?"

He started when she addressed him. "Oh, nothing much. I just wondered if you were expecting us to all go home now, or if there was time for, maybe, a Quidditch match?"

Hermione smiled and glanced at Draco, who had turned to listen when Hermione had started speaking. Draco shrugged, and said "I don't care if you're all here for dinner. So I doubt Quidditch is out of the question."

Terry smiled and looked around. "So, do you reckon everyone would want to play?"

Draco said, "I'm not sure. Here, I'll ask." He raised his voice over the general chatter, "Excuse me! Terry had the idea of a final Quidditch match. A friendly game, to put all competition behind us. Is anyone interested?"

Everyone in the room cheered. Draco looked back at Terry. "We'll take that as a yes."

Draco led the way outdoors and into the Quidditch supply shed. The word 'shed' didn't really describe it accurately. It was more like a barn. Most people looked around in awe at the extensive range of equipment Draco had inherited from his father. "You own _all _this?" Fred asked incredulously. "Outrageous."

"There aren't three Firebolt Extreme's hanging up over there, are there?" George pointed to the far side of the shed. "And a Seekers Secret?" Everyone's mouths dropped open as they withheld the broom, aside from Hermione who had never heard of it before. "Isn't that meant to -"

"Fly as fast as the snitch itself?" Draco supplied. "Yep."

"Wow." The group said as one. Then Ginny queried, "Does it really fly that fast? I mean, come on…"

"You can fly it, Ginny." Draco proposed. "Then everyone can see if it does or not."

Ginny eagerly agreed, but was stopped in her walk over to the wall by Harry's voice. "Shouldn't that broom be for a Seeker?"

Draco raised his eyebrows at Harry's question. "Do you want the broom for yourself?"

Harry shook his head immediately. "No, no. Well…it would be cool…but no. I meant, why don't we take this opportunity to mix the teams up a bit. No more House teams. Ginny can use that broom, and play as the Seeker for her team, but I'll play Seeker for a different team. No more House rivalry."

"I like it." Lee Jordan agreed immediately. "So long as I get to announce."

"Sure thing." Draco acquiesced. "Everyone who wants to play, grab a broom." There was a bit of a rush to the Firebolt's and Firebolt Extremes, until everyone realised that most of the brooms were high quality anyway. Once everyone held a broom in their hands, Hermione sorted the teams out, ensuring not only that the Houses were well mixed, but also that each team had a variety of brooms to keep it fair. They had enough people and brooms for three teams, and she chose the Seekers of each to be Ginny, Harry, and a Ravenclaw called Steve Curwood. Draco looked slightly upset, until she placed him as a Beater on Harry's team.

When the team selections were finished, and everyone was filing onto the pitch, Hermione whispered to Draco as they walked side-by-side, "Now you will know what it's like to win."

"Hey, I have won before." Draco defended himself.

"Fairly?" Hermione questioned, to which Draco dropped his head slightly. "That's what I thought." When everyone stopped walking, they turned to face Draco, awaiting further instructions.

"Alright. So we've got our teams." He stated. "Should we name ourselves? House names are no longer appropriate."

"Good idea." Angelina Johnson said, as everyone else murmured in agreement. The players seemed to glance at everyone else on their team, as if trying to think of a name appropriate to all of them. "I propose our name to be Proficient Players, because personally I think-"

"Boring." George interrupted loudly, who was another of the three Gryffindor on that team. "We should be called DD's…Dangerous as Dragons…" He left it hanging in hopes of hearing an audible gasp of wonder at his creative team name.

"That's the stupidest name I've ever heard of." Angelina snapped. "It something a ten year old boy might be inclined to suggest. _DD's…_honestly. That could stand for anything. Dumb Dunderheads or something equally as inaccurate."

"Yeah, like yours is so much better." He retorted with a raised eyebrow. "If Lee shortens _your_ name when he shouts the winning team, it'll sound like we're the team who wet ourselves while playing. PP's…PeePee's…" he looked at her as if it was the most obvious thing to piece together. When she stared at him with narrowed eyelids, George turned to face the rest of their team. "What do you guys think? Let's take a vote. All those in favour of Proficient Players, raise your hands."

Angelina raised her hand, along with a Ravenclaw named Lisa Turpin, and after a long hard glare from Angelina, Steve Curwood raised his hand also. "Hey, hey!" George intervened, "No death glares to get your own way!"

Angelina rolled her eyes, and said in a disgusted tone, "All those in favour of being called the ridiculous Dangerous as Dragons?" Both of George's hands shot into the air, and he looked around expectantly to see Ron, Theodore Nott, and Crabbe all raise their hands, with Steve raising his a second time, nervously avoiding eye contact with Angelina.

"Ha!" George exclaimed triumphantly. "Dangerous as Dragons we are!"

"Ok." Draco said, cutting off Angelina as she made to protest, although her proposed name had lost fair and square. "How about your team, Gin?"

Ginny turned to look at Draco from the discussion she had been having with her team. "Well, we've decided to call ourselves The Best Blend. We reckon we've got the best players of all Quidditch teams. Aside from Harry, that is."

Draco could immediately tell the name was false, but just nodded in acceptance. Ginny's team consisted of Pansy, Terry Boot, Fred, Millicent Bulstrode, Alicia and Hannah Abbot, who had agreed to play just to get the numbers up for three teams.

"What about you Draco?" Pansy asked with a grin. "What name have you guys chosen for Harry Potter's team? Potter's Party? Harry and the Others?"

"Shut up Pansy." Draco said, knowing she was kidding. "I'll hex you for that later on. And no, we're not naming ourselves in reference to Harry. Padma came up with the idea we call ourselves the Crushing Crusaders. So just wait, we'll crush you like dung beetles going into an Empowerment Potion."

"I'd like to see you try." Pansy said with a teasing smile, glancing over his team, which was made up by Draco, Harry, Justin, Padma, Ernie MacMillan, Katie Bell and surprisingly enough, Neville. Pansy turned to Hermione, and asked, "Who plays who first?"

"Um…how about Crushing Crusaders play the Best Blend first, and then the loser plays Dangerous as Dragons, or DD's…which, come to think of it sounds like a bra size," Angelina glared at George, and he smirked as if this was an achievement. "If the same team loses each time, the winners of each match play each other in the final. If the losing team of the first match win the second…we can figure out what to do after that." Hermione finished, slightly confused over what she'd just said.

"Sounds good." Alicia said, "But who's going to be the umpire?"

"I will." Goyle said, raising a hand in the air. Draco glanced at him and nodded. "Let's have the first two teams facing each other. DD's and anyone else not playing, please go seat yourselves in the stands."

Hermione led the way up to the stands and everyone sat down then quickly turned their attention to the players, who had just taken off into the air, zooming in every direction. Harry and Ginny flew high into the air to scour the pitch for the snitch, while the Keepers made their ways to their particular ends of the pitch.

Draco flew past with a beaters bat in his hand and winked at Hermione in the stands. She smiled back, but her smile was quickly replaced by a look of panic, as Neville, the other Beater for the Crushing Crusaders, whacked a bludger towards Draco's head. "Draco!" Hermione yelled, pointing behind him. Draco instinctively followed her pointed finger, and raised his bat to hit the oncoming bludger. He hit it hard and sent it spinning off towards Fred, where it hit him in the shoulder, and caused Fred shout in surprise and nearly fall off his broom.

Draco turned to look at Neville, his severe expression betraying his need for an explanation. "I know your memory has never been the greatest, Neville, but I'm just curious as to how you forgot I was on _your_ team so quickly?" Draco said, unintentionally causing some people in the stands to laugh at Neville.

"I'm sorry Draco. I really am." Neville quickly apologized, his face flushing a nasty shade of scarlet. "I just accidentally…hit it the wrong way."

"Right." Draco said. "Just try to, I don't know…hit it towards the _opponent _next time, ok?"

"Ok, Draco. Sorry again." Neville flew off, looking embarrassed. Draco sighed, knowing that Neville really hadn't meant it. He had been present in enough of Neville's classes to know that he made mistakes all the time, and never meant them. He also knew that this was Neville's first time playing in a Quidditch match, so for that he needed to cut him some slack. Besides, it was just a game.

"Ha." He muttered to himself, continuing to fly around the pitch. "Just a game. Yeah right."

"Talking to your self Draco?" Pansy asked, flying past him holding a beaters bat in her hand. "That's not normal. But hey, when have you ever been normal?"

"Never, but I suppose that's why we're such good friends." He said in reply, continuing to fly out of hearing range. Draco suddenly realised that Lee Jordan had been giving a running commentary of the game, and between the encounter with Neville and Pansy, he hadn't been paying attention.

"And that's another ten points to the Crushing Crusaders, so that makes it forty to ten, with the CC's in the lead." Lee said, allowing Draco to catch up on the events of the game. However, as Draco took the time to watch Pansy hit a badly aimed bludger at Padma, which ended up knocking Harry's shoe off, Draco saw the snitch. It was hovering lazily over Hannah Abbot's shoulder, who was a Chaser for the Best Blend.

Draco glanced at Ginny, who was flying with an intense expression as she looked for the snitch, but unfortunately was heading in the opposite direction. Quickly heading off a bludger with one strong hit towards Pansy, Draco sped off towards Harry, who was looking concernedly at the ground where his shoe had landed. As he neared Harry, Draco glanced over his shoulder to see that although Hannah had moved, the snitch hadn't.

"Harry, you idiot." Draco said quietly. "Take a look about five meters to Hannah's left."

"Huh?" Harry said intelligently, looking where Draco had suggested. "Wha…oh!" And without further ado, he aimed his broom and sped towards the snitch. Draco watched with a pang of jealousy, wishing he could be the one speeding towards the snitch, but also a slight feeling of pride, that his friend was one of the best Seekers the wizarding world would ever know.

From behind him, Draco heard Ginny's cry of outrage, as she obviously spotted Harry closing his fingers around the snitch. Lee Jordan's voice rang out, "Crushing Crusaders win! Harry gets the snitch!" A small cheer sounded from the stands, and the two teams flew down to the ground.

As the team congratulated Harry, Draco brushed past him and shot him a knowing look. Harry wasn't about to let Draco get the credit, otherwise he'd be extremely embarrassed that he hadn't noticed the golden ball himself. Harry muttered a quiet, "Thanks for that, mate."

The next game was between the losers, the Best Blend and Dangerous as Dragons. The game ended almost as soon as it had begun. Draco had just settled down next to Hermione, when the game began, and after only a few minutes of cringing whenever Pansy would try to miss hitting Ron with a Bludger but actually get him, Steve Curwood caught the snitch.

"Man, Ginny's having an off day, isn't she?" Draco muttered to Hermione under his breath, in regards to her missing the snitch twice in a row.

"She knows Harry will win anyway, so she thinks she may as well keep him feeling unthreatened." Hermione explained with a patient smile. Draco's brow furrowed but he didn't make a comment. "I would do the same for you, but there's nothing you would beat me at, so there's no need."

"Harsh." Draco commented, shaking his head in dismay. As his name was called from the field for him to get his arse down there for the next match, he noticed Hermione was wearing gloves. "Hermione," he frowned, "Why are you wearing gloves?"

Hermione looked strangely at him for asking such a meaningless question. "Because my hands were cold." She explained slowly. "Usually that's the reason people wear gloves."

"But it's a warm day." He argued. "Take them off."

Now it was Hermione's turn to frown. "It may be a warm day, but it's a bit chilly sitting here in the shade of the stands with the wind blowing. And why on earth do you want me to take them off?"

Draco hesitated before replying quickly, "Just take them off Hermione."

Hermione clasped her hands stubbornly and shook her head. "No."

"You will take them off before I go down to the pitch." He told her, and when she shook her head for a second time, he reached over and began prizing her hands apart. "Yes you will." As much as Hermione struggled, Draco was too strong and determined. Soon, he held the gloves in his hand while Hermione gave him a very confused look.

"Draco, you're acting idiotic." She said matter-of-factly. "Can you explain why you've just stolen my gloves?"

"Not right now." He said, pocketing the gloves. "But you shouldn't have to wait very long." And with that, he flew back down to the pitch where he landed smoothly next to Harry. Harry shot Draco a strange expression, and whispered something to him while looking up in the stands towards Hermione. Before Hermione had time to consider this, the players flew in to the air and the game began.

Harry flew quickly around the field, now on the Seekers Secret broom, as Ginny no longer required it. After a lap of the pitch, he started watching the game. No team had scored yet, because the Keeper's for both teams played in Hogwarts matches, and were well trained. Angelina was trying her hardest to score a goal past Justin, but he wouldn't let it pass.

Lee Jordan didn't have much to say, but tried to keep the commentary rolling anyway. "The Quaffle goes from Katie to Padma, who drops it…and is caught by Lisa of Ravenclaw. She flies with it to the goals…aims…shoots! …doesn't score. Sorry Dangerous as Dragons, it seems you're only as dangerous as a tiny, un-charmed plastic dragon. And even that's pushing it…"

Draco scoffed at this, having noted Angelina's offended expression. He noticed a bludger to his right, flew towards it and hit it towards Crabbe. Unfortunately for Crabbe, he hadn't seen it coming like Draco thought he would, and it hit him squarely in the left shoulder. Draco winced as he fell off his broom and landed heavily on the ground. Flying over him, Draco guiltily called down, "Sorry Crabbe, didn't think you'd get hit."

From the stands, Hermione noticed Crabbe stay on the ground as he was obviously too winded to fly properly. She turned her attention back to the game, and saw Katie quickly throw the Quaffle at the goals, but Ron blocked it with a sharp turn.

Hermione realised the only way for the game to go anywhere would be to have it end. Any excitement would have to come from a team winning, as it seemed no team would ever score a goal. Her attention turned to Harry, who was flying so fast he was just a blur. Although she couldn't see the snitch, it was obvious that was what he was going for. Every one in the stands straightened in their seats for a better look.

Harry was headed towards the opposite end of the pitch, where Steve, the Seeker for the DD's, was. Steve's hand was stretching out in front of him, and Hermione scanned he pitch with narrowed eyes and finally saw the snitch. It seemed to her that although Harry's broom was faster than Steve's, he wouldn't make it in time.

All the players stopped their game, and turned to see who the winner would be. Steve was quickly approaching the snitch as it flew in lazy circles near the ground. Harry was speeding towards the golden ball, and the only other player moving aside those two was Draco, who was hovering above the snitch helplessly wishing he was the Seeker.

Draco was just about to hit an oncoming bludger away without thinking so he could keep watching the end of the game, but suddenly had a better idea. He dropped slightly to give him a better angle, waited impatiently for the bludger to reach him, then moments before Steve was to catch the snitch, he whacked the bludger towards the golden ball.

Steve was already smiling in anticipation of beating Harry Potter, when the snitch suddenly disappeared from in front of him due to being knocked by a bludger. He frowned and looked in the direction it had been hit. Harry was zooming towards it with his hand outstretched, and within moments, had it captured in his palm.

The crowd erupted in cheers, as Harry Potter did what he always did. Won Quidditch. The players all landed and shook hands, as those from the stands filed onto the pitch.

"Well done Harry." Ron said, resting a hand on his best friends shoulder. "You won. I'm surprised."

Harry smiled, but looked at Draco with difficulty. "That's the first time in a few years I actually thought I was going to lose. That was clever thinking Draco. I'm really glad you're playing for the Speeding Snitches this year. You can keep my reputation up."

Draco laughed, pleased to have contributed to winning the match. Then he saw Hermione, and his face lost all humor. He swallowed and considered backing out of his plan. Harry saw where he was looking, and nudged him in the ribs. "As if she'd ever say no, you idiot." He whispered. "Do it now."

Draco shot Harry a worried glance, then approached Hermione. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "You won." She grinned. "How does this moment feel, after all the years of anticipation?"

"It could be better." He stated, prizing her off him. In answer to her questioning frown, and despite the rush of butterflies in his stomach, he knelt down in front of her on one knee. Hermione's eyes widened and she froze where she stood, easily putting together what could make the moment better. Draco closed his eyes and tried his hardest not back down, as thoughts of rejection floated through his head. Suddenly everyone became quiet, and he opened his eyes to find everyone staring at him in shock. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a magnificent ring, and held it in front of her.

Draco slowly looked back at Hermione, who wore an expression he couldn't read. After a few moments of watching her, he realised she was having difficulty keeping a smile off her face. He cleared his throat and began, "Hermione…" then stopped, because he suddenly forgot what he was going to say. A look of panic crossed his face, causing everyone to bite their lips to keep from smiling. Everyone except Hermione, of course. She smiled and looked at him with eyes full of tears.

He reached out and took her hands. "I love you. I know I haven't loved you for nearly long enough to ask this, but I know I'll never stop loving you. If you feel the same love in your heart, please consider this…Hermione, will you be the first person to make me cry in front of so many people, and do me the honor of marrying me?"

Hermione laughed, but found her laughter quickly turned into tears when she whispered, "Yes Draco." He quickly slipped the ring onto her finger, stood and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. Draco moved his head back and found her lips with his, and kissed her passionately. The people around them cheered and whooped and cried. When Draco pulled away from Hermione, a few tears fell down his face.

"I hate crying in crowds." He muttered with a grin. A few seconds later he was enveloped in a massive hug by Ginny, who didn't let go of him until she knew Hermione was free for a hug. Then Harry smiled at him from a few feet away, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then hugged him as well.

"Congratulations." He said quietly, followed by, "And I promise I'll never hug you again."

It took a long while, but soon the group moved back inside. No one went home however, as the gathering quickly turned into a celebration. Hermione and Draco played host and hostess, but never left each others sides, with their fingers entwined.

At one point that night, Hermione rested her head on Draco's shoulder. "I love you."

"I know." He replied, kissing her temple. After a few moments of silence, he continued, "It's because of my sexy body though, isn't it?"

"I was going to say your charisma, intelligence and bravery," Hermione said with a smile, "but now that you mention it, if it weren't for your sexy body, it never would have worked out."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

**A/N – **THE END.

Please keep an eye out for my next fic; to be called 'Scales and a Tail.' It's another romance between Hermione and Draco. I mean, who can seriously keep these two apart? I hope you enjoyed this fic, and that I've ended it well enough to satisfy. But finally,

_**THANK YOU!**_

Love Halfling.


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